


The Boy on the Fire Escape

by Reiya



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, And yet still somehow they meet, Bucky Barnes was born in the late 20th century, Bucky accidentally becomes Steve's guardian angel, Fluff and Angst, Girl in the Fireplace AU, M/M, Pre-Captain America: The First Avenger, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, SHIELD Agent Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers was not, time jumps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-11
Updated: 2016-04-29
Packaged: 2018-05-06 04:19:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 38,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5402762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reiya/pseuds/Reiya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When SHIELD agent Bucky Barnes is sent to investigate a potential Hydra facility he doesn’t know what to expect. Walking through a door in a Hydra base and ending up in a stranger’s apartment sure wasn’t it though. And according to the skinny kid gawping at him from the fire escape, the apartment he just walked into is in Brooklyn. In 1925. What the hell?</p><p>But Bucky isn’t the only one to have made his way through the door. And the more he gets caught up in Hydra’s plot to change the past the more he begins to wonder – what could Hydra possibly want with a skinny kid like Steve Rogers?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“I…” Bucky said, his gun raised as he scanned the area around them“…have a very bad feeling about this.”

Natasha turned and gave him a withering look, hands still flying across the keypad behind him.

“Keep your eyes forward Barnes” she ordered, returning to her work. “If I get shot in the back because you were too busy whining about the mission to cover me I will come back and haunt you, so help me god.”

Bucky grinned at her and flexed his fingers around the grip of the gun. He knew she was joking, she trusted him with her life and he trusted her with the same. It was what made them such a good team. There were few people who could say the infamous Black Widow even respected them, let alone trusted them. When Fury had assigned them to be partners all those years ago it had taken endless months and several near-death experiences for her to even begin to have faith in him. But now that it was earned, their once cool professional relationship had transformed into a deep rooted friendship. Deep enough that he was willing to break his well-practiced ‘serious agent’ façade to moan to her mid-mission.

“Oh come on Nat, even to you this must be a bit suspicious. We get called up out of the blue to deal with a ‘threat of unknown severity’ where the extent of Fury’s mission briefing was basically, ‘It’s probably Hydra and it’s probably dangerous. Please go stick your noses in and report back.’ How is this not ringing any alarm bells for you?”

He could almost feel her rolling her eyes behind him as she huffed out a breath.

“I don’t like this any more than you do James. The lack of intel is disturbing and the fact this place only appeared on SHIELD’s radar a few months ago is even more so. But we don’t have to like it, we just have to deal with it.”

“Yeah well, I still don’t like it.” Bucky grimaced. “And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me James. God, you sound like my mother. When will you start calling me Bucky like the rest of the world?”

“When Bucky stops being such a stupid name, then I’ll think about it.” Natasha retorted and then let out a little cry of triumph as the door she had been working on slid silently open.

She straightened up and pulled out her gun. Together they slipped inside the building, glancing furtively around as they made their way down the darkened corridor.

“It doesn’t look like a Hydra base.” Bucky observed as they slipped through the semi-darkness of the hall. “It’s too small. And too quiet. But the guards we took out by that side door were definitely wearing the Hydra logo. I guess Hydra must be losing their touch.”

“Or maybe they were just trying very hard not to let this place get noticed.” Natasha fired back, motioning for him to stop as she checked out the way ahead. “This place looks at least a few years old and yet SHIELD had no idea it existed until a few weeks ago. And if it hadn’t been for Stark picking up the weirdly high energy readings in this area they wouldn’t have known about it at all. Someone has been doing a very good job of keeping this place off SHIELD’s radar and I don’t like it.”

The corridor they were walking down ended abruptly, splitting off into two with identical doors at either end. Bucky and Natasha looked at each other. They knew each other too well to need to discuss plans beforehand.

“I guess this is where we split up and search for clues.” Bucky joked and he saw the ghost of a smile flit over Natasha’s lips. She turned and began walking down the left corridor, gun still drawn and ready in her hand.

“Don’t get killed Barnes,” She called to him over her shoulder. “I’d hate to start having to make my own coffee whenever I go to HQ.”

“Love you too Nat,” he called back and the sound of her laugh drifted over to him as he grabbed the door handle in front of him and pushed.

 

* * *

 

The corridor in front of him was quiet and suspiciously absent of guards. He knew they were here somewhere, the front gate had been well guarded, hence his and Natasha’s entrance via a well-hidden side door. But it seemed he was in a quiet part of the base, away from whatever was giving off the massive energy readings Stark had picked up on.

He made his way cautiously deeper and deeper into the base. The corridors twisted and turned and branched off in all directions. At one point he heard footsteps and voices ahead of him but he shrunk into the shadows and they soon faded away. A few times he came across doors that required a key code but it was almost child’s play to get past them. He didn’t rise to being one of SHIELD’s most successful agents for nothing.

Just as he was about to make a start down yet another deserted corridor his communicator crackled to life.

 _“Come in Winter.”_ Natasha’s voice rang in his ear, inaudible to anyone but him thanks to Stark’s fancy new earpieces. _“Report? Over.”_

 _“Winter reporting in.”_ He replied, raising his wrist to his mouth where the tiny mouthpiece was strapped. _“I’ve just got a whole lot of nothing over here Widow. Over.”_

 _“Likewise.”_ He could hear the frustration in Natasha’s tone even through the electronic twang of the earpiece. _“I’m moving deeper into the base. Widow out.”_

 _“Acknowledged.”_ Bucky lowered his wrist and resumed walking down the corridor, bypassing the door at the end with practiced ease.

He’d had his gun raised as the door swung open but he almost let it drop in confusion as he took in the room before him. It was spacious, with several doors leading off it into other parts of the base and a glass observation window in one wall. In the middle of the room was a tangle of machinery, huge consoles and wires with steadily blinking lights and flashing dials. The room looked deserted however; the machinery seemed to be in some kind of standby mode. And yet that wasn’t what made Bucky almost drop his guard in shock.

In the wall on the far side of the room was a door. But it wasn’t the same as the rest of the doors in the Hydra facility. They were all made of dulled metal, with electronic keypads and swipe card access. This door looked…old. It was wooden, chipped and scratched and weathered down with age. There was nothing modern about it, no keypad, no wires, no anything really. It looked so out of place sitting there in the metal wall of the base that Bucky almost laughed.

After a cursory glance about the room to make sure he was alone he lowered his gun and made his way across to the door. Pulling off the glove on his right hand, he ran his fingers along the surface of the wood, feeling the rough texture beneath his palm. He wished he could touch it with both hands but he knew that there was no point. The metal that made up his entire left hand and arm could feel the basics of temperature and pressure but the subtle textures of wood would be lost to it.

Well, if nothing else at least he could tell this door was real. Real worn old wood with an old fashioned brass doorknob, completely at odds with the rest of the room. He briefly considered calling it in to Natasha but decided against it. There was nothing really to repot yet. An old wooden door in a modern Hydra base was strange but certainly not the strangest thing the two of them had ever come across.

First, he would have to find out if there was anything worth reporting. He transferred his gun back into his right hand, gripped the doorknob with his metal hand and twisted. The door swung open silently and he stepped through and into the darkness beyond.

The door swung shut behind him.

 

* * *

 

Well, this…wasn’t normal.

He was standing in what looked like a domestic apartment. A very old fashioned apartment if the state of the kitchen was anything to go by. In fact, as he turned around, he couldn’t see a single modern appliance in the house, not even a radio. A few battered looking pieces of furniture were scattered about the room, two rickety chairs, a patched up sofa and a worn down table. The far side of the room was a kitchen, with an old-fashioned stove and not a microwave in sight. Another door sat in the wall to his right leading into what he had to assume was a second room and the front door with its worn metal bolt stood opposite him.

Bucky blinked, then rubbed his eyes, hoping this was all just some moment of madness and that he would open his eyes again back in the Hydra base. He wasn’t that lucky. When his eyes refocused he was still standing in the apartment. Damn.

Cautiously, he took a step further into the room, keen eyes searching out every corner, looking for threats. He almost turned back when he noticed the open window, the curtain blowing gently in the breeze. A window and a breeze meant this apartment was connected to the outside. The room he had just left had been very firmly in the middle of the Hydra base. This was getting stranger and stranger and Bucky didn’t like it one bit.

He approached the window silently, his gun still gripped tightly in his hand. Outside he could see a rusty metal fire escape and further out, the burning lights of a city lit up at night. He didn’t have time to register it though as in that moment he noticed the figure sitting hunched over on the fire escape before him. The figure turned around and Bucky mouth dropped open in surprise.

The figure was a boy, young – maybe six or seven at the oldest. He had light blond hair and blue eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness surrounding him. He was gripping a piece of paper and his hands were smudged with what looked like charcoal from the stick clutched tightly in his fist.

The boy looked just as shocked to see Bucky as Bucky was to see him. He opened his mouth, looking angrily at Bucky just as Bucky blurted out, “Who the hell are you?”

If it were possible the kid looked even more affronted. He glowered at Bucky and clambered back through the window, drawing himself up to his full and rather unimpressive height.

“I’m Steve,” he retorted. “What are you doing in my apartment?”

“In your…” Bucky gaped at the kid, lost for words. “What the hell is going on here? Where am I?

“I just told you,” the kid – Steve – huffed at him. “You’re in my apartment. And if you’re here to steal anything don’t bother. Ma and I got nothing here worth stealing so you can just go back to where you came from and leave me alone.”

If the situation hadn’t been quiet so absurd, Bucky would have laughed. The kid was ridiculous, standing there glaring at Bucky as though he wasn’t facing off a man twice his height who was carrying a loaded gun, albeit one Bucky was still pointing at the floor.

“I’m not here to steal anything.” Bucky reassured in his most placating voice. “I’m just lost. I came in through the door.” He gestured vaguely to the door behind him and Steve looked at him sceptically.

“You’re lying. That door doesn’t go anywhere. It’s bricked up from the outside, otherwise we’d be able to walk straight into Mrs O’Mallary’s apartment on the other side.”

“Bricked…” Bucky paused for a moment before deciding to let that go and move onto the more pressing questions at hand.

“Look kid,” He said, meeting Steve’s eyes and giving him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “If you can just tell me where I am I’ll get out of your hair ok.”

Steve looked at him dubiously but seemed to see the fairness of the deal. “You’re in Brooklyn.” He shrugged, gesturing out of the window. “In my apartment like I said.”

Ok, that was definitely weird. Strange apartments in the middle of Hydra bases were one thing but Brooklyn was several thousand miles away from his last known co-ordinates. Either Steve was lying or there was something very definitely wrong here.

Bucky took a deep breath and slipped his gun back into his holster. There was clearly no threat here and he didn’t want to scare Steve away since he seemed to be currently Bucky’s only source of information. Exhaling through his nose, Bucky looked around the apartment again, taking in the stove and copper pot sitting atop it, the door with its metal blot and the chunky record player perched in the far corner.

Well, here goes nothing. Abandoning all sense of logic and reason, Bucky turned back to the boy before him.

“Steve,” he asked, the hesitancy clear in his voice. “What year is it?”

Steve looked at him like he was crazy, which to be fair Bucky was fairly certain he might be. Steve narrowed his eyes, obviously trying to work out if Bucky was joking. When Bucky’s face remained deadly serious he shrugged and said nonchalantly,

“It’s 1925.”

“Ah.” Bucky really wished he was nearer to one of the two chairs in the room because he suddenly felt the urgent need to sit down. Failing that, he took several deep breaths and tried very hard not to freak out. He’d almost forgotten about Steve until an indigent tone shook him out of his thoughts again.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Bucky,” He replied, before realising what an insufficient answer that was. “I’m…looking for something. Something important. But I got lost and I somehow ended up here so I’m just going to…” He gestured vaguely behind himself to the door beyond, “…go now.”

Steve didn’t look particularly satisfied with that answer but Bucky had wasted enough time in this weird little surreality. He had a mission to complete and if he didn’t check in again in the next few minutes Natasha would start to worry. He turned back towards the door he had come through, before his brain caught up with him and he froze on the spot.

The door was open.

“Steve,” He said quietly to the boy over his shoulder. “I need you to stay very still for me. Stay by the window and don’t move.”

The door had closed behind him. As he had walked through it into this place he had heard the click as it swung shut. There was no wind in the Hydra base and the light breeze blowing in from the window behind him was no-where near enough to shift the thick wood of the door. Bucky had walked through and it had closed behind him. But the door was open now which could only mean one thing. Someone else had come through.

Very carefully, Bucky drew his gun, flicking the safety off and raising it in front of him. From the corner of his eye he saw a flicker of movement and he dropped just in time to avoid the bullet that flew over his head and embedded itself in the wall behind him. Dropping into a roll, he raised his gun up again and fired, watching as the Hydra agent who had been concealed in the shadows dove out of the way.

Bucky jumped to his feet and flung himself at the agent, unwilling to fire off another shot with Steve standing so close. He just hoped the kid had had enough sense to take cover.

The agent went down hard as Bucky tackled him, his gun skittering away across the floor. He writhed under Bucky’s weight but Bucky had the upper hand. He pinned the agent by the neck with one hand and smashed his face with the other. The metal hand connected hard with the man’s temple and Bucky could see his eyes roll into the back of his head as it smacked into the wooden floor.

Breathing heavily Bucky kept the man pinned by the neck for a few more seconds, making sure he really was out cold. Then he swung himself off the guy and picked his gun back up, tucking it back into the holster at his thigh. He then made his way over to where the agent’s gun had skidded and picked it up as well. It wasn’t something he wanted to leave lying around. Finally, he turned around, his eyes searching the room.

“Steve?” He called out. A small blond head appeared from behind the couch and he let out a sigh of relief. “Steve it’s ok, you can come out now.”

Slowly, Steve emerged from where he had been hiding, his eyes wide and scared. Bucky raised his hands to show he was unarmed and made his way over, crouching down so his eyes were level with Steve’s.

“Who was that?” Steve whispered, his voice hoarse. “Why was he shooting? What did he want?” His breathing was hitching and Bucky could see that although Steve was trying to hide it, his lip had begun to tremble.

“Hey, hey, it’s ok.” Bucky took Steve’s face in his hands, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. “Don’t worry Steve, you’re safe. You’re safe.”

Steve hiccupped a little but seemed to calm down slightly, taking deeper and more even breaths. He looked Bucky in the eyes and Bucky could see the confusion and fear warring within them.

“But what did he want?” Steve repeated, stubborn to the last.

Bucky sighed and let his hands drop from Steve’s face. Internally, he debated how much to tell Steve. He still didn’t have a clue what was going on but he had a distressed seven year old who had just witnessed a gun fight standing across from him and he figured less was probably more in this situation.

“You know how I said I was looking for something important?” Steve nodded and Bucky continued, relieved Steve seemed to be coping relatively well with the whole thing. “Well, there are some bad people who are trying to stop me finding this…thing. And when I got lost here they must have followed me to try and stop me finding it, ok. But you’re safe, I promise. I promise Steve ok?”

Steve nodded again and Bucky stood up. He made his way back to the unconscious agent and picked him up, hoisting the body over his shoulder before making his way back over to the open door. There he paused and turned around, looking back into Steve’s wide blue eyes as they followed his movements.

“I’ll be back soon. I just need to make sure this guy can’t hurt you and then I’ll be back Steve, I swear.”

He saw the uncertainty on Steve’s face and forced a smile. “Don’t worry.” He said.

Then he hoisted the body further onto his shoulder and made his way into the gaping blackness of the door. He passed through the doorframe and heard the door swing shut behind him.

 

* * *

 

Bucky stepped out on the other side and almost ran straight into Natasha who had been hurrying towards the door. When she saw it was him she stopped and lowered her gun, a look of relief flitting across her face.

“James,” she said, eyes flickering up and down his body to assess the damage. “Good to see you still alive.”

“Oh you know me,” Bucky grinned, dumping the unconscious Hydra agent on the floor in front of him. “I’m like a cockroach.”

“You may be as hard to kill as a cockroach Barnes but you’re about as stupid as one as well. I was following that agent through the base and saw you go through that door from where I was standing through there.” She gestured to the observation window behind her. “You’re losing your touch. He saw too and went in after you. I was just on my way to help but it seems like you have it covered.”

Bucky huffed and turned to her in a mock glower. “It took you long enough. I may be losing my touch but seriously, it can’t have taken you a full five minutes to walk across the room?”

Natasha frowned at him, eyes flickering briefly to the door.

“What are you talking about? You dragged that guy out almost as soon as he went in and he went in only seconds after you. I assumed you had been waiting behind the door to knock him out.”

This time it was Bucky’s turn to frown. He had disabled the agent quickly but not that quickly. It had taken him a minute or two to incapacitate the guy and at least a few more to calm Steve down and return through the door. From what Natasha was saying it sounded like he had only been gone a few seconds but that couldn’t be right.

He glanced down and was reminded that he still had an unconscious Hydra agent at his feet. He flipped the guy over with his foot, frowning in distaste as he did so. The man was still out for the count but there was no guarantee he would stay like that forever.

Dismissing his earlier thoughts he gestured for Natasha to give him a hand as he hauled the body away from the door. Natasha pulled out some SHIELD issue bindings from her belt and began to secure his wrists and feet together. Bucky left her to it, knowing she would be fine. He made his way back over to the door and gripped the handle in his metal fist. There was something strange going on here and it was he and Natasha’s job to find out what. They would investigate and hopefully put a stop to it before Hydra did any damage, but first he had to make sure Steve was ok.

“I’ll be back in a minute Nat,” he called over his shoulder. I’ve just got something I have to do first.”

He saw her turn towards him, heard her annoyed, “James wait…” but he was already stepping through the door. It swung shut behind him with a click.

 

* * *

 

Bucky glanced around, confusion written on his face. He was standing back in Steve’s apartment but it was different than before. There was sunlight streaming in through the open window and heat too, a sharp contrast to the cool darkness of a moment before. The record player was gone from the corner and the pot had been removed from the stove. He glanced furtively around, hoping to see Steve standing where he left him but there was nothing.

Cautiously, Bucky walked towards the open window. Sitting on the fire escape, his legs swinging out over the drop as he drew on a worn piece of paper resting on his lap, was Steve. It might have been Bucky’s imagination but he looked different from the last time Bucky saw him. He was slightly taller, slightly thinner. His sharp cheekbones were more pronounced and his hair flopped further into his eyes.

Awkwardly, Bucky cleared his throat and Steve jumped, dropping his pencil in surprise. He glowered, turning towards Bucky and exclaiming, “Hey, what do you think you’re…” His eyes met Bucky’s and his mouth dropped open in shock. His pencil rolled towards the edge of the fire escape and dropped off, clattering down to the floor below but Steve paid it no heed. He was sitting gaping at Bucky, his eyes wide with surprise.

Bucky was a little put out. He had promised Steve he would come back and he did. Steve had no right to look as shocked as he did. Bucky levered himself out of the window and onto the fire escape next to Steve, who was still staring at Bucky open mouthed.

“I uh, came back to check you were ok.” Bucky started haltingly, not sure how to react to a small blond child gawping at him like he was a ghost. Steve looked at him, rubbed his eyes, then looked again.

“You’re real.” He breathed out. “Ma told me that you were just a dream.”

“What?” Bucky was confused. Hell, he was completely and totally lost. “I was here just a few minutes ago. I punched a Hydra agent in your living room. I promised I’d come back remember?”

“But that was months ago,” Steve exclaimed, still looking shocked. “That was almost a year.”

“But…” Bucky was at a loss for words. “…it was only a few minutes.”

“No.” Steve was looking a little annoyed now. It was kind of adorable. “It was almost a year ago. You walked through the door and I waited but you didn’t come back. And when I tried opened the door it was just the brick wall on the other side like I told you. That door doesn’t go anywhere. When Ma got back home from her nightshift I told her what happened but she said I must have been having a nightmare.”

He turned fully to face Bucky, curling his legs up in front of him. “You said you’d come back soon but you didn’t.” He accused, looking at Bucky reproachfully.

Bucky was still processing, trying to get his head around what Steve had just said. He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it and then closed it again. He had no idea what to say. He was so far out of his depth on this one and he still wasn’t convinced this wasn’t some kind of bizarre extended dream. Finally he opened his mouth again and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“The door isn’t bricked up, I walked through it.”

Steve gave him another annoyed look and stood up, grabbing Bucky by the hand and dragging him up with him. “It is. I’ll prove it to you.”

He and Bucky clambered back through the window and Steve led him over to where the door was sitting innocuously in the wall. Steve grabbed the doorknob and twisted, letting the door swing open into the room.

Bare brick met Bucky’s gaze. Steve was right, there was nothing behind the door. Just a dusty brick wall, rough and very much solid. Bucky raised his hand tentatively and ran it over the bricks, watching as small puffs of brick dust rose under his fingers. Then he backed away very suddenly, trying not to panic.

Steve looked at him in worry, letting the door swing closed again. Bucky looked back, focusing on keeping his breathing as even as possible. There was no point panicking now, the situation was messed up already and it didn’t need him breaking down in front of a seven year old to make it worse.

Hesitantly, Steve made his way over to Bucky and looked up at him, biting his lip nervously.

“Are you alright?” He asked tentatively.

“Yeah kid I’m great,” Bucky snorted in reply. “Just great. I walk through some random door, end up here, leave again, come back what you’re telling me is months later when to me it’s been about five minutes and now I’m stuck here.”

He stalked back over to the door, wrenching it open angrily.

“And now my only way back is bricked…bricked…”

Darkness greeted him from inside the door. The bricks from before were gone, replaced only by a swirling black void. Bucky stood, staring. From beside him he could almost feel Steve’s jaw drop too.

“But…” he heard Steve start, before trailing off, obviously having no idea what to say.

Bucky close his eyes, silently praying his day wasn’t about to get even weirder. Or better yet, that he would wake up and find out this had all been some kind of bizarre dream. He opened them again and turned back to Steve, who was looking up at Bucky with a look of awe on his face.

“Are you a wizard?” He asked and Bucky grinned despite himself. Steve just looked so earnest , staring up at Bucky in amazement.

“No, I’m not.” Bucky admitted. “I still don’t know what’s going on here Steve but I promise I’m going to find out.”

“So you’ll come back?” Steve asked, eyeing him dubiously.

“Of course I will.” Bucky grinned. “I kept my promise last time didn’t I.”

Steve huffed in half-hearted annoyance and raised his eyebrows, crossing his skinny little arms over his chest.

“Yeah ok, it took a bit longer than I expected, I’ll give you that.” Bucky conceded. But I’ll be back Steve I promise.”

Steve still looked a little dubious but Bucky couldn’t really afford to waste more time. There was still so much about this that he didn’t understand and he needed to get back to Natasha as soon as possible so they could start working out what the hell was going on here.

He walked towards the door, glancing back at Steve as he went. The boy was looking at him with a strange expression on his face, arms still wrapped tightly round his chest. Bucky gave a little half-wave over his shoulder as he went and Steve gave him a small smile in return. Then Bucky passed through the doorframe and the door swung closed behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This AU is still set in the MCU but there are some major changes to the world for the purposes of this fic. Firstly is that Bucky was born in the 20th century. He is roughly the same age as Natasha and Fury regularly partners them up for missions. Secondly, SHIELD is not compromised by Hydra in this universe. Hydra is an external terrorist organisation SHIELD has known about for a while that dates back to the second world war. 
> 
> I will be updating this fic regularly, once or twice a week. I hope you all enjoyed it and I’d love to hear what you thought!


	2. Chapter 2

“…for me.”

Bucky heard the end of Natasha’s command before he had even fully stepped out from the doorframe. He felt the door swing closed behind him and looked ahead to see his partner glaring at him angrily, still in the same position as she was when he had left. The Hydra agent was still partially bound at her feet and she secured the final the restraints with unnecessary force.

“Seriously James?” She huffed, raising her eyebrow at him. “Do I honestly have to start keeping you on a leash? First you wander through a suspicious Hydra door, which may I point out is situated exactly on top of one of Stark’s unexplained energy spikes, and fail to notice you’re being followed and then you go back through the same door again with no explanation or backup. It’s a wonder you haven’t died yet.” The look in her eyes suggested she might be considering changing that in the near future.

Bucky held up his hands in a placating gesture and made his way across the room towards her. He dropped down by the unconscious Hydra agent and helped her grab the body, dragging it to the corner of the room.

“Sorry Nat,” He smiled sheepishly. “But like I said, there was something I had to do first.”

“Well you were quick about it, I’ll give you that.” Natasha eyed him suspiciously and Bucky withered a little under the intensity of her gaze. “The door barely closed before you were coming back through again. What were you doing?”

And there it was again. Bucky knew, with an unshakable certainty, that he had been in that room for far longer than a few seconds. He had been talking to Steve for at least a few minutes and yet here Natasha was proclaiming he had wasted no time at all. And before – the same thing. He had been in Steve’s apartment for a significant amount of time and yet Natasha had claimed no time at all had passed.

Bucky felt like he was seeing a jigsaw, the truth fractured and scattered and he could only fit together a few of the disjointed pieces. There was something going on here that went far beyond his current understanding but he was determined to find out what it was.

“There was a boy…” Bucky began, before suddenly remembering something Natasha had mentioned earlier. “Wait. Nat what did you mean that the door is situated on top of an energy spike?”

“I mean exactly what I said.” Natasha pulled out her Stark-tech scanner and flipped the screen round to show him. The screen was showing the basic scan of the Hydra base that SHIELD had used in their briefing, with bright red pulsating dots lighting up the screen, marking the areas where the abnormally high energy readings –the ones that had alerted SHIELD to the presence of the base in the first place- were located. A pair of blinking blue dots marked out their own location and Bucky could see that they were indeed standing in the centre of one of the energy spikes.

He pulled out his own device and flipped it open, seeing an identical picture light up his screen. He turned back to Natasha who had moved to the control panel in the centre of the room. She swiftly connected her scanner and began to type, breaking through the layers of security and allowing her to transmit the information directly to SHIELD.

“So,” Natasha turned from her work, her fingers still flying across the keypad effortlessly. “What was it you needed to do so desperately that you decided to leave me with all the hard work?”

Bucky debated internally for a second before deciding to tell her everything. He didn’t care how crazy he sounded, there was no point lying to Natasha. She would be able to tell in an instant and would kick his ass until he told her the truth.

“I know this is going to sound crazy,” He started, still trying to figure out the best way to phrase what he had seen. “But I swear to god what I’m about to say is completely true.”

Natasha seemed to sense the seriousness of the situation and dropped her lightly teasing demeanour immediately.

“Go on.” She said, keeping her eyes fixed on his. Bucky dropped his gaze and took a deep breath before he opened his mouth and told her everything.

He explained to her as best he could what had happened through the door. He told her about the apartment, about Steve and the Hydra agent. He told her about what had happened the second time he had gone through the door, about the inexplicable time jump that seemed to have occurred. He tried to explain it as best he could but the more he talked the more he realised how absurd his story sounded. When he was finished he grimaced, looking up at her and expecting to see disbelief or distrust in Natasha’s eyes.

Instead Natasha looked at him hard for a long moment while Bucky held his breath. Then she nodded once and turned back to the control panel in front of her.

“I believe you.” She said simply and Bucky let out a sigh of relief. “You’re an excellent liar Barnes but I’m better. You’re telling the truth. And to be honest, stranger things have happened than a door in a Hydra base being a time portal to Brooklyn in the 1920’s. She smiled tightly and Bucky returned it gratefully. If Natasha believed him at least he knew he wasn’t going completely crazy.

“There something else.” Bucky hesitated a moment, unsure of how to phrase his next observation. “I was in that apartment for a while Nat. Much longer than you said I was away for.”

Natasha tilted her head, hands still working at the control panel even as she looked straight at him. He let himself grin slightly, still not over the absurdity of the situation he was in and he saw the expression mirrored in Natasha’s face.

“Well, at least we never end up on the boring missions.” She joked and Bucky laughed, feeling some of the tension drain from his body. Yes there was something seriously wrong here but at least he could always count on Natasha to have his back. They would figure out whatever Hydra was planning together and put a stop to it.

Bucky turned and walked back towards the door, feeling Natasha’s eyes follow him silently. He knew he needed to go back through, they needed to find out what Hydra was planning and their only current lead was the door and what lay beyond it. And more than that, Bucky had promised Steve that he would return.

“I have to go back.” He said, turning away from Natasha. “Don’t wait up for me. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“James, don’t be stupid.” He heard Natasha groan, making as if to follow him. But before she could get more than a few steps he was already through the door, hearing the click as it closed behind him.

* * *

 

“Steve?” Bucky called out. He walked cautiously into the apartment, looking around for the sight of a blond head but there was nothing. It was daytime again and the apartment didn’t seem to have changed but that didn’t mean much.

Bucky made his way over to the window, peering out at the fire escape outside. But there was no familiar figure sitting on it this time, the rusty metal was empty and cold.

Sighing, Bucky withdrew and gave the apartment another cursory glance. He was just about to give up and leave when he heard the tell-tale sound of a key rattling in the lock at the front door. Bucky froze, wondering how he was going to explain himself. After a few seconds of rattling the door swung open, revealing a skinny blond teenager still fumbling with the keys in the doorway.

It was Steve, it had to be. But he looked so different, so much older. His hair was neatly parted and combed but fell lank into his face and Bucky could see even at a glance that Steve was too thin to be healthy. His cheekbones were even sharper and more defined and his jacket hung loose at his shoulders, several sizes too large. He still had the same thin delicate hands and when he looked up Bucky could see the same expression of shock in his bright blue eyes as he’d had the last time.

“Uh, hi?” Bucky tried, internally wincing at how painfully awkward he sounded.

Steve looked at him wordlessly before turning to deposit his keys on the kitchen counter. As he turned Bucky could see the beginnings of a bruise blooming across his cheekbone. After several painful seconds of silence Steve turned back round, looking at Bucky warily.

“I thought most imaginary friends went away when you grew up.” He said, raising his eyebrows at Bucky. Even through the serious tone of his voice, Bucky could hear the hint of teasing edging his words. “I have to say, I admire your persistence.”

“Uh…” Bucky floundered for a few seconds, at a loss as to what to say. “…thanks?”

Steve smiled at him and his whole face seemed to light up, making him look brighter and healthier. He shrugged off his jacket and carefully laid it over the back of one of the chairs, before walking across the room, past Bucky towards the window. He made a gesture for Bucky to follow him and Bucky did, a wary expression on his face.

Steve slipped out of the window and onto the fire escape and Bucky followed suit, sitting himself down next to Steve with their legs dangling off the edge and out over the city.

He turned to Steve and opened his mouth, trying to think of what to say. The last time he had seen Steve he was much younger and much more trusting. Now that Steve was older Bucky wasn’t quite sure how to approach him anymore. But he had to, one way or another. Steve was the only clue he had to Hydra’s plans at that moment and Bucky needed to find out what he knew.

“So,” Bucky started hesitantly, coughing awkwardly before continuing. “How did you get the black eye?”

It wasn’t the question he wanted to ask but he figured it was a good enough ice breaker to diffuse some of the tension surrounding them.

Steve raised his eyebrows and laughed – a harsh, self-deprecating little sound.

“I got punched in the face.” He said, then looked at Bucky’s unimpressed expression and elaborated a little. “There was a bunch of guys kicking round a stray dog, I couldn’t just let them do it.”

“And exactly how many guys were there Steve?” Bucky asked, frowning and looking pointedly at the bruise that was quickly darkening on Steve’s cheekbone. “Because it sure as hell doesn’t look like you came out on top in that fight.”

Steve shrugged nonchalantly. “Five, maybe six. I didn’t really count them.”

Bucky choked a little before turning his full body to glare at Steve. “You tried to take on five or six guys by yourself? What the hell Steve, you could have been seriously hurt.”

“Well I wasn’t just going to walk away.” Steve retorted indignantly. Then he looked at Bucky, almost shyly from the corner of his eye and said, “You know, back when I was a kid, I used to pretend you were going to swoop in and save me. Like you did with that man all those years ago.” He blushed a little as he said it and Bucky’s mouth dropped open in surprise. 

“I wasn’t kidding when I said you used to be my imaginary friend.” Steve continued, still staring at Bucky and smiling a little. “Ma was convinced I had just had some weird reoccurring dream but after you came the second time I knew you had to be real. And I used to spend ages staring at the door hoping you would come back through. It was nice to think there was someone out there watching out for me.”

Bucky didn’t quite know how to respond to that. For him it had been only minutes since he had last seen Steve, but for Steve himself it had clearly been years. From Steve’s point of view he had known Bucky for much of his life.

“I’m sorry I took so long.” Was what Bucky finally came out with. “Where I come from, time doesn’t seem to work the same way. I was only gone for a few minutes there but I come back here and…” He gestured to Steve and the obvious changes the years had wrought. “How long was I gone?”

“About ten years.” Steve told him, turning his gaze back to the city for a second. The light of the sun danced off his hair, turning it to spun gold. “Long enough that even I started questioning if I had imagined everything.”

Bucky opened his mouth to apologise again but Steve waved him away, giving Bucky another small smile.

“You came back. You kept your promise in the end.”

Now it was Bucky’s turn to smile. Steve really was remarkable. Bucky had turned up out of the blue in his life again and here he was, sitting chatting as though they had known each other for years. Although from Steve’s point of view he supposed, they had.

Before he could vocalise any of this however, Steve turned back to him, suddenly looking serious again.

“You had your question.” He told Bucky, looking determined. “Now it’s my turn to ask mine.”

He paused, staring at Bucky as though he was trying to solve a particularly complex puzzle.

“Who are you?” He asked. “And don’t try and blow me off with any of that vague crap you pulled when I was a kid. Who are you really? And where do you come from?”

“Technically, that’s two questions.” Bucky joked, but he sobered up at Steve’s look of deadly seriousness. He decided to tell the truth, he owed Steve that much anyway. And after all, he still needed to find out if Steve knew anything that would help the mission. Much as he would love to stay here and talk to Steve all day he had to put the mission first.

“Like I said before, my name is Bucky. I work for an organisation called SHIELD and we’re hunting down a terrorist organisation called Hydra. My partner Natasha and I were sent to investigate one of their bases of operations. SHIELD was picking up some abnormally high energy readings and wanted to know what they were up to. Natasha and I split up and I found the door.”

Bucky pointed to the door he had come through and Steve nodded in understanding.

“I came though and met you. The man who attacked me, he was working for Hydra. Whatever they’re doing they don’t want anyone to know about it. And whatever it is, I need to find out so I can stop them.”

Steve was looking at him but there was no disbelief on his face. Bucky figured having a stranger walk through a bricked up door in your apartment, apparently having not aged a day in ten years must have desensitised him to some of the weirdness of the situation.

“Ok,” Steve said, never taking his eyes off Bucky. “So you’re some kind of secret agent like from the pulp magazines and you’re trying to stop a terrorist organisation. That answers my first question. But you’ve still got to answer my second. Where do you come from? And how can you just walk in and out of my apartment through the years like it’s nothing?”

“Steve, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Bucky stated. Steve looked decidedly unimpressed and Bucky relented.

“Promise me you won’t call me crazy.”

Steve shook his head earnestly and Bucky took a deep breath before continuing.

“I come from Brooklyn too. I was born there and I usually operate from SHIELD’s New York branch. But Steve, I was born in 1985. From you’re perspective, I guess I come from the future.”

He expected Steve to be shocked at this. Expected exclamations of disbelief and scorn. But instead Steve just nodded once, looking at him thoughtfully.

“That’s what I thought.” He said finally, after a few moments contemplation. “I figured no-one I know of dresses the way you do and that gun you used was like nothing I’ve ever seen.” He gestured to the M9 strapped to Bucky’s hip, so much sleeker and compact than anything from his time.

“And then there was the whole walking through walls and time traveling thing.” He grinned at Bucky, his eyes bright and teasing. “Can everyone in the future do that? Or are you just special?”

“It’s not normal, no.” Bucky replied, returning the smile. “Hydra’s up to something and for some reason they’ve opened up some sort of time portal here. Your apartment is connected somehow. For some reason, there’s something here that Hydra wants.”

He turned to Steve, questioning but Steve just shrugged.

“I’m no-one special. I live here with Ma, she’s a nurse down at the hospital and she’s always out working. I get sick a lot so we need the money.” He saw Bucky’s questioning expression and elaborated a little.

“I have a lot of medical problems. Anaemia, scoliosis, asthma. You name it, I probably have it. No-one though I was going to make it past ten but Ma’s good, she got me through it every time. Told me never to stop fighting and to ignore what everyone said about me. And so here I am.”

He spread his arms and looked at Bucky a little furtively, as though he was expecting disgust or pity. Bucky gave neither. He knew it must have been hard for Steve growing up. He didn’t know how far medical technology had progressed by 1935 but he assumed that if they couldn’t cure some of those things in his own time then Steve must have had it far worse. He was probably far too used to pity by now.

Instead, Bucky decided to move on to his most pressing question. From what Steve had told him he knew nothing about Hydra or why they would want him but it was worth a shot.”

“Do you have any idea what Hydra might want with this place?” He asked. Steve shook his head and Bucky could see the honesty in his eyes. Steve knew nothing about Hydra, which meant Bucky’s only lead had just gone cold.

Bucky sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was no closer to working out what Hydra’s plan was than when he and Natasha had first arrived at the base and now he was just more confused than ever. Why on earth would Hydra have a door leading to the past just plonked in the middle of their base? And why was it so unguarded? Surely, if this was all part of some Hydra master plot the door would be swamped by guards. But Bucky had just been able to wander in and the room had looked deserted and out of use. Maybe the door had been a mistake, a test run for something else. Hopefully when he got back, Natasha would have gleaned some useful information from the console she was hacking.

Bucky turned to Steve again and saw the boy was looking at him intensely, his eyes scrutinising every detail. When he noticed Bucky had caught him staring he bushed again and dropped his gaze.

“Sorry.” He mumbled, embarrassed. “It’s just…I’ve been trying to draw you since I was seven. But I could never get it right. Your face always comes out looking wrong and I started to forget what you looked like. And now you’re here again I just wanted to try and remember so I know you’re not a dream after all.”

Steve bit his lip, worrying it between his teeth for a few moments before finally working up the courage to blurt out,

“Can I draw you? It’d be nice to draw from life for once.”

He looked embarrassed but Bucky was flattered. He wanted to test his theory that little or no time passed in his world while he was away in this one which meant he had some time to kill. And he was secretly pleased at Steve’s request.

“Sure.” He replied, trying to hide his smile. “Go ahead.”

Steve’s blush deepened a little but he was smiling too. “Wait here.” He said, motioning for Bucky to stay seated as he slipped back into the apartment and returned a few seconds later with a sketchbook in one hand and a pencil in the other. He sat down next to Bucky again, this time turned away from the city, facing Bucky head on. Bucky made a move to turn around too but Steve stopped him.

“Just, uh, stay where you are.” He directed. “You look nice from the side like that.”

If Bucky had though Steve had gone red before it was nothing compared to now. His whole face went crimson and he stammered for a few seconds before blurting out, “I meant you have a nice profile. Very, um, artistic.” He coughed awkwardly and Bucky took pity on him.

“Thanks.” He said, grinning at Steve before turning away again, allowing Steve to maintain a little dignity. He heard the scratch of a pencil as Steve began to sketch an outline on the paper but he didn’t look round, not wanting to interrupt. Instead he took the time to look out at the city.

It was so different to what he knew but yet he still felt the tug of a connection. It may be eighty years in the past but Brooklyn still felt the same, even if the skyline had changed a fair bit. He could still hear the hustle and bustle of the city streets, people talking and shouting and going about their business down below. The lights still lit the city up like a thousand tiny eyes watching him from afar. It wasn’t the city he knew but it was somehow his city all the same.

Bucky didn’t know how long they sat like that, Steve drawing silently and Bucky watching the city, caught up in his own thoughts. He assumed his theory was true and no time was passing back in his world or he was sure Natasha would have kicked the door down by now if he had been away for longer than a few seconds. He wasn’t looking forward to the confrontation when he got back. He shouldn’t have gone off without her, he should have stayed or at least taken her with him. But for some reason he had wanted to do this alone.

Finally, after what seemed like hours had passed, the sounds of drawing stopped from beside him and he heard Steve groan as he stretched, letting the pencil fall to his lap. Bucky turned around. It was only when he saw the flaming orange of the sun reflecting off Steve’s hair that he realised the sun had begun to set and the night was drawing in. He shivered, finally registering the dropping temperatures. Steve seemed to notice too, bringing his arms round himself to rub at his shoulders.

“Let’s go back inside.” Bucky suggested and Steve nodded his agreement. They climbed back through the window and it was only once they were inside the apartment again that Bucky could hear the sound of footsteps approaching from down the corridor.

“Steve,” He said, suddenly serious. “Someone’s coming.”

Steve looked confused for a second before glancing out the window and cursing when he saw the rapidly setting sun.

“It’s Ma,” he hissed. “Her shift must be over and you have to go. Now.”

Bucky wanted to protest but he could see the logic of Steve’s argument. There were few ways to explain a strange man in the apartment as it was but one decked out in black combat gear with a gun strapped to his hip like Bucky would be impossible to explain away.

A key rattled in the lock and Steve threw Bucky a panicked look. “You have to go back through the door. Otherwise she’ll see you” He whispered, then hesitated for a second, looking torn. “Promise me you’ll come back.” He mumbled, casting his eyes to the floor.

“Of course I will.” Bucky promised, grasping Steve’s shoulder reassuringly. “I never got to see that drawing and I wanna have a look when I get back here.

He winked at Steve, before making a dive for the door when he heard the key begin to turn. Turning round he caught one last glimpse of Steve staring at him, eyes wide, before the door closed and Steve was gone.

* * *

 

“Ow!” Bucky exclaimed, rubbing the bruise on the back of his head. “Nat, what the hell?”

“That,” Natasha said, “was for being an idiot. And this,” She punched him in the shoulder and Bucky yelped in pain. She really hadn’t held back at all. “…was for going off on your own without waiting for me.”

She glared at him before asking, “How long were you gone this time?”

“Just a couple of minutes,” Bucky lied, rubbing the spot where she had punched him and trying to look innocent. From the look on her face it was clear that he had failed.

“Well,” She said, evidently choosing to ignore his lie for the moment. “It seems you were right about time passing differently through there. You were only gone a few seconds from my perspective. Still,” she raised her eyebrows at him and her lips twisted in a small smirk. “It was still long enough for me to finish up all the real work. All the data from that console has been transmitted to SHIELD and Stark is looking at it now. He’ll analyse it along with the data from all the others and get back to us when they’ve worked out what’s going on.”

“Good,” Bucky said absentmindedly, before finally registering what she had said. “Wait, what do you mean ‘all the others’? What others?”

“The other doors of course.” Natasha raised her eyebrow at him. When none of the confusion abated from Bucky’s face she pulled out her scanner and showed him the screen, pointing out two of the pulsing red zones. “Two more doors on top of two more hotspots of energy activity. I passed them on my way here and sent all the info I could get to SHIELD. I bet that if we searched out the other red zones we’d find the same thing.”

 Bucky felt something cold settle in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t know why but he suddenly knew something was wrong. His instincts were screaming at him to get to those other doors as quickly as possible and he knew from previous experience that listening to his instincts was usually a good idea.

“We need to go. We need to get the other doors as fast as we can. Natasha, please trust me on this.”

Natasha sensed his tension immediately and her face settled into a cool mask professionalism. “Come on,” she said, gesturing to the exit by the observation window. “This way.”

Quickly she led him out of the room and they made their way through the maze of corridors together, on high alert for more Hydra agents lurking nearby. After a few minutes Natasha came to a door much heavier and well secured than the others. From her bag she pulled a swipe card, one she must have taken from a Hydra agent judging by the logo, and swiped it through the keypad. Then she pulled out her scanner and held it to the retinal pad. Bucky could see the hologram of the eye appear and the light above the door go green.

“The next door is through here.” Natasha said, lowering her voice to a near whisper. “When I last came through there were guards in the room. I had to do a fair bit of sneaking to scan the damn thing in the first place.”

The door in front of them slid silently open and together they slipped into the room beyond.

The room was almost identical to the one Bucky had been in previously. They were standing in the observation room behind the tinted glass and looking out onto a large open space with a wooden door set in the far wall. The door looked old. It wasn’t identical to Steve’s door but it was similar, worn and wooden and completely out of place in a Hydra base. Machinery and equipment filled up the rest of the available space. Unlike the previous room however these machines were clearly working at full capacity, lit up and flashing with lines of code scrolling across the screens as a few white-coated scientists tapped away at the keypads feverishly.

Just as had Natasha said, there were also guards. Four Hydra agents in heavy combat gear were standing at parade rest by the door. As Bucky and Natasha watched, one of the scientists hit a switch and a light on the console in front of her flickered green. She made the universal _go ahead_ motion towards the agents and Bucky didn’t think twice.

He was out of the room before he knew it, gun raised. The Hydra scientists fell in quick succession and he could feel Natasha’s presence behind him, could hear the recoil of her gun as she took down two of the guards before they could take a step.

The third one charged at them both, firing his own gun and causing Bucky to dive to one side. He flipped over to see Natasha hurl a Widow’s Bite from her own position on the floor and the third guard went down hard, jerking and twitching. Bucky sprang to his feet, just in time to see the fourth guard yank the door open and dive through.

He heard Natasha’s shout behind him but he was already up and running. The door was swinging closed behind the agent but he made it just in time, diving through as the door slammed shut behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed the new chapter! I'd love to hear your thoughts as comments and kudos keep me writing.


	3. Chapter 3

Bucky stumbled a little as his feet hit the concrete of a street, hearing the click of the door closing behind him. He only had a few seconds to take in his surroundings – bare brick walls on both sides. Some kind of allyway? – before the shape of the Hydra agent filled his vision. The man had spun around as Bucky had leapt through the doorway and Bucky barely dodged the fist that came flying towards his face. The man staggered, the force of his wild blow unbalancing him, and Bucky used it to his advantage. He brought his knee up into the man’s stomach hard and then smashed his metal fist into the guard’s temple.

The man’s knees buckled and he hit the ground. But he wasn’t done yet. Bucky noticed the hand scrabbling for the gun strapped to the agent’s hip and he drew his own in a swift and well-practiced move. His finger twitched instinctively for the trigger but he stopped himself in time. He had no idea where he was and if there were any civilians nearby. He didn’t want the distinctive sound of a gunshot to bring people running. Instead Bucky swung the pistol in a high arc and brought it down hard on the man’s head. The guard’s eyes rolled up immediately and he slumped forward and sprawled on the pavement; unconscious.

Once he was sure the agent wouldn’t be getting up again any time soon, Bucky took the opportunity to take in his surroundings. He was standing in an alleyway, bare brick with some tattered posters peeling from the walls. The door he had just come through looked like some kind of backdoor, an exit from one of the buildings towering above him. The sun was high in the sky causing heat to lie like an oppressive blanket all around him and he could hear the noises of a busy street in the distance.

He must be in some kind of city then, although which one Bucky wasn’t sure. He holstered his gun and stepped towards one of the alley walls, smoothing his hand over the peeling poster, hoping for some more concrete information. The poster looked to be a few weeks old and was advertising a baseball game. The name of the team - The Brooklyn Dodgers – caught Bucky’s eye. He had definitely returned to the past then, there was no team with that name playing in the present. A quick glance at the date of the match confirmed it. The day and month were irrelevant but the year stood out. ‘1938’ printed in neat black ink.

More years had passed since his last visit into the past but only a couple. Not much could have changed. If he really was in Brooklyn like the poster suggested then Steve couldn’t be far away. He probably still lived in the same apartment. Bucky could visit, he could…

No, he couldn’t. Regardless of the fact he would never be able to make it through Brooklyn unnoticed in his tactical gear, he had no idea where Steve lived. And beyond that, he couldn’t afford to be distracted now. Hydra had opened up multiple doorways to Brooklyn in the past which meant there had to be something here that they wanted. And it was Bucky’s job to stop them.

Just as Bucky finished that train of thought he heard the sound of a commotion coming from the entrance of the alleyway. Immediately on high alert Bucky shrunk back into the shadows, praying he would remain unseen. He had no way to explain the tight black clothing and body armour he was wearing, nor the gun and various knives strapped to his hip and thigh. The majority of his arm was concealed by his uniform but his glove covered only his palm, leaving his gleaming metal fingers in plain sight. He was dressed for combat, not undercover work and there was no way that he could talk his way out of this on if he was spotted.

He glanced over at the door on the other side of the alley, wondering if he should make a run for it. But then the voices appeared again, louder this time, and Bucky shrank back.

Two figures appeared in his line of view, the larger one hauling the smaller by the collar. Both voices were loud and angry but Bucky was too absorbed trying to become one with the bricks to pay attention to what they were saying.

Suddenly there was a crack as the larger of the two men punched the smaller, sending him sprawling. Bucky caught a glimpse of blond hair and red blood as the man hit the ground. Bucky expected him to stay down and the larger man clearly thought so too, beginning to turn away as he wiped his bloody knuckles on his shirt, but he stopped as the man on the ground struggled to stand up again.

Bucky saw the man’s pained attempts to stand, willing him to stay down. It was clear he was in no state to fight and the other man was nearly twice his size. Then the man on the ground raised his head, blue eyes burning with anger and Bucky recognised him instantly.

Abandoning all attempts to remain hidden Bucky stepped out from the shadows, hands curling into fists. The bigger man laughed at Steve’s attempts to stand, swinging his fist back lazily for another hit. Bucky was over there in a flash, catching the man’s hand in one fist and bringing the other round to smash into his nose. He could kill this man with just a twist of his wrist but instead he satisfied himself with the pained cry the man let out as his nose broke under the metal of Bucky's hand.

The man staggered back, looking shocked. Crimson blood streamed down his face and Bucky grinned darkly in satisfaction.

“Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” He challenged, deliberately resting his hand on the gun at his hip. The man gave him a look of pure terror before fleeing back the way he came towards the main street. Bucky watched him for a few seconds to make sure he was gone before turning back to Steve.

Steve had made it back to his feet and was standing staring at Bucky, his mouth partially open. It had been a couple of years since Bucky had last seen him and it showed. Steve’s face had matured, his jawline and cheekbones more prominent. He was still skinny and small but less so than the last time Bucky had seen him. He had grown up.

Bucky waited for a few seconds but when no sound seemed to be forthcoming he raised his eyebrow and asked. “What did I tell you about fighting guys twice your size?”

“I had him on the ropes.” Steve blurted out, then looked at Bucky defiantly. “And anyway you told me not to pick fights against groups of people. There was only one of him.”

Bucky looked at Steve incredulously for a moment before bursting out laughing. Steve grinned as well and wiped at the blood trickling from his nose. Bucky couldn’t help but smile back, although he sobered up enough to give Steve a half serious glare.

“Seriously Steve, you can’t go picking fights with people like that. What if I hadn’t been there huh?”

Steve looked at him, seemingly deciding to ignore the first part of Bucky’s statement. He went straight for the most obvious question.

“Why are you here? I know last time I said I used to pretend you were my guardian angel but I didn’t expect you to take it seriously.”

His tone was teasing but his face was serious and questioning.

“And how did you get here? This place is on the other side of Brooklyn to my apartment; did you come through the door and walk all the way over?”

Bucky pointed to the door behind him, shrugging.

“Apparently yours isn’t the only door that I can come through.”

When Steve looked a little disbelieving Bucky held up his hands in surrender.

“I swear I’m being serious. I still have no idea what’s really going on but where I come from there’s more than one of these weird doors. I followed a Hydra agent through this one and ended up here.”

“So you’re telling me,” Steve said, the disbelieving look not abating from his face in the slightest. “That the evil people your secret spy organisation are trying to stop have not one but multiple time portals leading to me? I’m flattered.”

Bucky wanted to grin at Steve’s deadpan tone but his words made Bucky hesitate. When he had first come through the door and realised where he was he had assumed that Hydra had something they needed in pre-war Brooklyn. The fact that one of the doors led to Steve’s apartment had to be a coincidence. But Steve was right. The locations of the doors didn’t just have Brooklyn in common, they had _Steve_ in common. Meeting him once was a coincidence. But using a different door, arriving in a completely different part of Brooklyn and still running into Steve? That couldn’t be just chance. There was something else at play here.

But Bucky didn’t want to worry Steve just yet. After all, he had no concrete evidence that any of this had anything at all to do with Steve and that Bucky running into him like this wasn’t just some crazy coincidence. No, better to wait until he knew what Hydra’s plan was.

Steve was still looking at him and Bucky realised he had been silent for longer than was appropriate. He forced a smile onto his face and joked, “Don’t let it get to your head. But honestly Steve, I think it’s you that’s following me. After all, this time I got here first.”

“Jerk.” Steve huffed, rolling his eyes and Bucky laughed. He put an arm round Steve’s shoulder, pulling him in for a rough half-hug, only just resisting the temptation to ruffle Steve’s hair. The touch just seemed so natural, like he and Steve had known each other for years.

“It’s good to see you again Steve.”

“You too Bucky.”

Bucky pulled Steve away from him again and inspected him closely, cataloguing the changes in his face since the last time they had met. It was only then that Bucky really took notice of the state Steve’s face was in. The punch Steve had taken hadn’t broken his nose but it had left it bleeding and split his lip in the process. Trails of blood were already drying on Steve’s upper lip and chin and Bucky reached out instinctively to take Steve’s face in his hands.

Steve’s eyes widen slightly at the feeling of Bucky’s fingers brushing lightly over his lip, assessing the damage.

“God Steve you really have to be more careful. Your face is all busted up.” Bucky frowned in distaste, wishing he had hit the man who hurt Steve a little harder.

“I have some stuff I can use to clean you up so you don’t have to walk home looking like someone used you as a punching bag. Just gimme a sec.”

Bucky dug around in one of the pockets of uniform before drawing out one of the antiseptic wipes that were part of SHIELD’s standard medkits. He ripped the packet open and pulled the wipe out, cupping one hand round Steve’s jaw to tilt his head up.

He could feel Steve take a breath and watched as his eyelids fluttered slightly as Bucky ran his thumb over Steve’s busted lip. Bucky wondered if the touch was hurting Steve and hastily pulled his finger away. As carefully as he could he used the antiseptic wipe to dab at Steve’s face, removing the dried blood from his nose and chin and gently wiping the cut on his lip. Steve’s eyes followed him the whole time and Bucky took a few seconds to marvel at just how blue they were, bright and intense. Steve hissed a little as Bucky dabbed at the tender flesh of his cut lip but he kept his gaze fixed.

Bucky cleaned the cut until Steve looked as presentable as anyone who had just been punched in the face could before finally stepping away. There was a strange tension hanging in the air and Bucky stuffed the wipe in his pocket, averting his gaze.

“That’s…uh…all done.” He mumbled his voice a little hoarse, although why he couldn’t stay.

He looked back at Steve for a few more moments until finally Steve broke the eye contact.

“Thanks.” He said and the moment was broken, the strange tension dissipating and the comfortable familiarity returning. Bucky smiled and shrugged noncommittally.

“Any time.”

Steve made as if to walk out of the alleyway but he only got a few paces before he began to wobble. The punch had hit his nose but it had still knocked his head round a fair bit and Bucky could see he was still unsteady on his feet. Bucky reached out to grab Steve’s arm, steadying him, before pulling him over to the stoop of the doorway and pushing him to sit down.

“Just give it a minute Steve, I don’t want you collapsing on your way home after all the effort I put in to save you.” He joked before sitting down next to Steve, allowing himself to relax a little. It was only belatedly that he remembered the unconscious Hydra agent lying a few meters away where Bucky had left him but Steve either hadn’t noticed or didn’t care. With the strength that Bucky had used to knock him out, the agent wouldn’t be getting up any time soon so Bucky dismissed the worry and focused again on Steve.

“So,” He began, before halting for a second. What do you say to someone in this situation? _‘Hi I’ve been gone for a few minutes or a few years depending on how you look at it, how’s life?”_

“Um, how’s your mom doing?” Bucky asked, grasping for the first topic he could think of to start up a conversation. Of course, he had never met Steve’s mother, discounting diving through a time portal to avoid her as she came in the front door, but someone’s family seemed like an appropriate thing to ask about after not seeing them for a few years.

Steve’s face, which up until that point had been cheerful and open, immediately shut down. His whole body changed as he hunched over and averted his eyes from Bucky’s face, looking suddenly miserable.

“She’s dead.” He said shortly, still not looking at Bucky. “For almost a year now.”

 _‘Fuck_ , Bucky internally cursed at himself. _“Nice going Barnes.”_

Externally he blurted out, “Steve, I’m so sorry,” wincing at how inadequate the words sounded. He tentatively reached out and wrapped one arm around Steve’s shoulder, relaxing a little as Steve lent into the touch.

“It’s ok.” Steve sighed, shoulder pressed up against Bucky’s. “She was a nurse in a TB ward. Got hit, couldn’t shake it. We both kind of expected it to happen sometime. After she died I couldn’t afford the rent on my old place so I moved out. Good thing you didn’t come out of your old door or you would have scared the hell out of the new guy.”

Bucky’s lips twitched and he could feel some of the tension drain from Steve’s shoulders at the joke.

“My new place is just a few blocks away.” Steve continued. “Smaller but not bad. I get by.”

He looked up at Bucky with a glint of hope in his eyes and said, “You could come back with me if you want. Just for a while I mean. It’s not much but I’ve got a good bottle of whiskey stashed under the floorboards we can open and you did say you wanted to see my drawing the last time you were here.”

Bucky was sorely tempted and almost agreed before remembering the unconscious Hydra agent he had left unceremoniously on the ground a few feet away. No matter how much he wanted to go with Steve he just couldn’t.

Sighing, Bucky motioned to the unconscious man watching as Steve’s eyes widened when he noticed what Bucky was pointing at.

“I’m sorry Steve, I can’t. I knocked out the agent I followed here but he won’t stay like that forever. I have to take him back before he wakes up and finishes what he came here for…whatever that is.”

“It’s alright Bucky, I understand.”

Steve looked disappointed and he let out a small sigh. Then he raised his head and gave Bucky a small, slightly forced smile.

“I get it, you have a job to do. Just try not to leave it another two years before you visit again.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Bucky rose to his feet, then offered Steve his hand to pull him up as well.

“Try not to start any more fights on your way home alright Steve?”

“I make no promises.” Steve laughed, raising his hands.

“You’re such a punk.”

Bucky pulled Steve in for another rough hug, feeling Steve’s head press against his chest. Then he drew back and walked down the alley to the unconscious Hydra agent, hoisting him onto his shoulders in one swift movement. Steve watched him, his face softened into a fond expression.

Bucky slowly walked back over to him and the door, trying to draw the parting out for as long as possible. He didn’t know quite why but he was reluctant to leave. He knew once the door closed he had no control over the passing of time. What was less than an hour for Bucky had already been years to Steve. Bucky had missed so much in the time he had been gone and he worried about Steve. Steve treated him with the comfortable familiarity of old friends, which to Steve they were. And despite how short a time Bucky had spent with Steve from his perspective he felt like they had known each other a lifetime.

But he had to go. He had a duty and he was letting himself become distracted. Natasha would have his head or another vital part of his anatomy if she knew he had been wasting time chatting to a local rather than focusing on the mission and she would be right.

Turning to look at Steve one more time Bucky gave a joking salute, before grabbing the doorknob and turning it. He was halfway through the doorframe when he heard it, so soft he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to hear it at all.

“Goodbye Bucky”

Then the door sung shut and Steve’s voice was lost.

* * *

 

 

When Bucky emerged on the other side of the door the first thing he noticed was Natasha, still crouched where he had left her with the Hydra agent lying prone at her feet. She straightened up when she saw him, still carrying his own unconscious Hydra agent over his shoulder.

They made short work of restraining the agents and it was only when they were secure that Natasha finally turned to him and asked, “So?”

“Definitely another time portal.” Bucky reported, checking the restraints on each guard. “It didn’t take me back as far as the other one did but only by a few years. Still Brooklyn. I incapacitated the guard almost as soon as I was out the door. But get this Nat, I met the same boy again.”

Natasha’s cool professional demeanour never faltered but Bucky could see the curiosity in her eyes.

“The same boy who’s apartment you told me you kept arriving in through the other portal you mean?”

“Yes. Steve - the boy - he was older this time, around twenty I would guess. But it was definitely him.”

“Did you take a reading of him?” Natasha questioned. At Bucky’s blank look she sighed and asked, “Did you scan him for any energy activity? And strange physiological signs? If he’s connected to Hydra he may be advanced in some way.”

Bucky snorted at the image. Steve was the least likely person he had ever met to be hiding secret powers. He was a hundred pounds soaking wet, his head barely came up to Bucky’s chin and Bucky had seen first hand just how badly he lost a fight.

“Natasha, trust me. If you’d seen him you’d know there’s no way Steve is superhuman or advanced in any way. And he told me himself, he’s never heard of Hydra. Running into him again was probably just some crazy coincidence.”

“I don’t believe in coincidences.”

Natasha looked deadly serious. She straightened up and Bucky followed, giving the room a cursory sweep before walking towards one of the ordinary doors leading out of the room.

“Two of Hydra's time portals have lead you straight to this boy. There’s something about him they want and we’re going to find out what it is. Which means next time you go running off into the past…” She smiled and there was a predatory glint in her eyes. “…I’m coming with you.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Together, Natasha and Bucky made their way stealthily through the base. Natasha had her scanner out and was using it to navigate, directing them to the next hotspot of energy activity. As they approached a bend in the corridor they heard footsteps approach and they both slunk back into the shadows.

“Strike Team Alpha’s signal is green, phase one has already started.”

A voice echoed down the corridor and Bucky carefully peered round the corner, observing as several heavily outfitted men walked past, all dressed in black with guns strapped to their hips. The leader of the team was talking into a mouthpiece similar to the ones Bucky and Natasha carried and Bucky assumed he was communicating to someone elsewhere in the base.

“Strike Team Beta is moving into position.” The man continued. “There’s no report yet from Team Alpha and so Team Beta will continue with the mission as planned.”

The men continued to walk and Bucky and Natasha stayed frozen, waiting until the sound of footsteps faded from earshot. The Bucky motioned silently and Natasha followed, slipping out into the corridor and darting down it by his side. They moved like shadows, sticking close to the walls with ears straining for possible threats.

Bucky could hear the faint sounds of the Strike Team in the distance and he followed, making sure to remain out of sight. Eventually they came to another heavy metal door and Bucky fell back, letting Natasha work her magic. In seconds the door was swinging open and they brought up their guns simultaneously, unsure as to what was waiting for them on the other side.

The room before them was empty. It was a mirror of the previous room they had been in, the same observation window, the same hulking machinery taking up most of the floorspace. The machines here were clearly active like the last lot, blinking with dials and lights that were all lit up green. But there was no-one in the room.

Over in the opposite wall was a door, almost identical to the last. It sat there innocently in the silence of the room and Bucky realised in horror what must have happened.

“They’ve already gone through.” He breathed out. Then turned to Natasha with cold steel in his eyes. “We have to hurry.”

She nodded and they ran over together. Bucky grabbed the door handle and yanked, not caring what was waiting for him on the other side. He could hear Natasha cock her gun next to him and they passed through the doorway side by side.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The first thing Bucky noticed when he entered the world on the other side of the door was that it was night time. The city was lit by the faint glow of the moon and a few streetlights flickered uneasily. A cold breeze brushed passed him and he shivered involuntarily.

The second thing he noticed was the muffled yell somewhere in the distance. Natasha had clearly heard it too as she spun in the direction of the noise and took off running, Bucky right on her heels. They only needed to take a few steps before they saw the source of the commotion.

Ahead of them were the shadowy silhouettes of the Strike Team, standing by the entrance of a darkened alleyway.  The leader had his gun drawn and two of the others were holding the arms of a smaller third man, pinning them by his sides. One of the Hydra agents had his hand clamped over the smaller man’s mouth, accounting for the muffled yell that had drawn Bucky and Natasha’s attention.

The Hydra agents dragged the smaller man into the alleyway and the leader followed. Bucky could hear the click as he cocked his gun.

Sprinting down the street Bucky flung himself into the mouth of the alleyway after them, Natasha by his side with her gun drawn and ready. He barely had any time to take in the scene in the alleyway before he fired off his first shot, catching one of the agents who was forcing the smaller man to his knees in the chest. The leader looked round shocked, only just starting to raise his own weapon from where it was pointing at the back of the smaller man’s head when Natasha’s first bullet caught him square between the eyes, sending him sprawling to the floor.

The fight was short and brutal. Bucky and Natasha were outnumbered three to one but they weren’t SHIELD’s best ops team for nothing. They made short work of the remaining agents using a combination of weapons and the lethal force of their own bodies. Bucky took a fist to the jaw and Natasha bled from a thin line that had been sliced through her upper arm by a close call with a knife but in just a few minutes they were surrounded by the bodies of the Strike team.

It was only then that Bucky looked round for the man the Strike team had been manhandling before he and Natasha had arrived. During the course of the fight he had briefly seen the man attempting to punch one of the agents but hadn’t paid it much attention. It was only when he took in the slight figure wiping the blood off his face, still partially concealed in the shadows that he recognised him.

“Steve?” Bucky asked, shocked.

“Bucky?” Steve asked, looking equally surprised.

They stared at each other, dumbfounded before Natasha’s pointed cough broke the moment.

“So this is your boy Barnes?” She asked, stalking towards Steve with a catlike grace. Bucky could see Steve’s eyes widen as he took in Natasha, black catsuit and assorted weapons making her look both beautiful and deadly. She circled Steve once, taking in every inch of him with a critical eye. Then she pulled out her scanner and held it towards Steve, watching the reading flicker by on the screen.

“You were right Barnes.” She said finally, flipping the instrument closed. “There’s nothing special about him.”

“Hey!” Steve began, looking affronted but one look from Natasha and his moth snapped shut with a click.

Natasha’s eyes flickered over Steve again, looking him up and down. Finally she looked Steve in the eye and asked, “So what does Hydra want with you?”

“I...uh…” Steve stammered and Bucky took pity on him. Natasha was intimidating at the best of times and right now she was downright scary.

“Natasha.” He said, glaring at her pointedly. “Meet Steve.” He gestured to Steve who waved awkwardly.

“And Steve, meet Natasha. She’s my partner.”

He was so busy glaring at Natasha, locked in a silent argument, that his missed the disappointment flash in Steve’s eyes. By the time he turned round Steve had straightened up to his full height and reached out a hand to Natasha.

“It’s nice to meet you ma’am.” He told her and she gave him a small smile, nodding approvingly.

“Your boy’s got manners Barnes. I like it.”

Even in the dark Bucky could see the flush creeping up Steve’s cheeks and he crossed his arms, looking at Natasha disapprovingly. She winked at him before turning back to Steve.

“What year is it?” She asked and Steve’s eyes flickered to Bucky before replying.

“It’s 1938.” He told her. “It’s only been a few months since Bucky was last here.” Then he turned to Bucky questioningly.

“Those were Hydra men weren’t they?” He asked and Bucky nodded. “I was just on my way home and they jumped me. Dragged me into this alley. One of them had his gun out and he looked like he was going to shoot me.” Steve looked as confused as Bucky felt. “Why?”

It was Bucky the Steve addressed the question to but Natasha who answered.

“We thought that Hydra were creating these time windows to access something in the past.” She replied, gaze steady. “But now I think maybe they weren’t looking for something but someone.”

Steve looked at her incredulously for a minute, opening his mouth and closing it again. Finally he blurted out, “You can’t seriously mean me?”

When Natasha’s face remained perfectly serious he let out a sharp laugh.

“You said it yourself, I’m nothing special. I’m just a kid from Brooklyn. What could the evil guys from the future possibly want with me?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out.” Natasha told him, before turning back to Bucky. “Make sure he gets home safely.” She told him and Bucky nodded in agreement. “There could be more agents lurking round here somewhere. I’ll deal with this.” She motioned to the bodies strewn on the ground around them.

“Hey, I don’t need a bodyguard. I can take care of myself.” Steve protested but he still followed Bucky out of the alleyway and onto the street. Bucky looked around cautiously, gun still in his hand and Steve sighed.

“I’m serious Bucky, I’ll be fine.”

Bucky raised his eyebrows and looked pointedly to the bruises blooming on Steve’s skin where he had been grabbed.

“Steve, an evil terrorist organisation from the future just tried to murder you, would it kill you to accept some help?”

Steve looked like he wanted to protest again but seemed to think better of it. He sighed again and motioned for Bucky to follow him.

“My apartment’s this way, just a couple of blocks over.”

Bucky followed Steve down the street, cataloguing every injury Hydra had dealt him. Steve seemed to have escaped mostly unscathed, with just a few blooming bruises where he had been grabbed and a small trickle of blood from the cut on his face but even just that made Bucky’s blood boil. Hydra had tried to hurt Steve. They had tried to _kill_ him. And Bucky would make them pay for it.

Steve lead him through the streets to a rickety old apartment building, then up several flights of steps to a battered wooden door. He shoved the key in the lock and wiggled it around, letting out a small noise of triumph when the lock finally clicked open.

Inside the door was a single roomed apartment, with a tiny kitchen and a battered old table taking up most of the space. A bed that had definitely seen better days stood in the corner and a sketchbook lay open on the table. Apart from that, the apartment seemed empty.

Steve walked over to the table, flipping the sketchbook closed and motioning for Bucky to sit on the single chair in the room. Bucky hesitated, not wanting to leave Steve standing before noticing the window in one wall and the fire escape beyond.

“For old time’s sake.” He joked, and Steve shrugged in agreement. Bucky slipped through the window, Steve following behind and they settled side by side on the cold metal. Steve shivered a little and Bucky took note of the thin jacket that was Steve’s only protection against the cold. He unzipped his own bulky jacket and draped it round Steve’s shoulders. Steve looked at him in surprise but Bucky just shrugged casually.

“You need it more than I do.” He said, motioning to the layers of protective clothing and lightweight body armour he was wearing underneath. Steve opened his mouth to protest but before he could he shivered again and instinctively drew Bucky’s jacket tighter around his shoulders. He ran his fingers over the material, taking in the strange texture.

“It’s so different.” Steve observed, fingering the SHIELD logo sewn onto the shoulder. “Does everyone from the future dress like you do?”

“No.” Bucky laughed. “Not like this anyway. It’s just my uniform, although my civilian clothes would probably look strange to you too.” He looked at Steve in his starched shirt and suspenders. “Fashion sure has changed a bit.”

Steve was smiling at him, looking intrigued.

“What else has changed? In the future I mean? Do you have flying cars and things like that?”

“I wish.” Bucky grinned. “No, we didn’t quite make it to flying cars but there’s lots of other cool stuff instead.”

He reached a hand into one of his pockets and pulled out his phone, handing it to Steve. “That’s a phone where I’m from."

Steve’s eyes went as round as saucers.

“It’s so tiny.” He marvelled. “There’s no way this can be a telephone.”

He took the phone from Bucky in awe, carefully examining every inch of it. He tapped the screen and it lit up, showing a picture of Bucky, Natasha and Clint squashed together and pulling a stupid face at the camera. Bucky blushed a little, embarrassed by how childish it looked but Steve’s face lit up in glee.

“You can take pictures in colour!” He exclaimed, looking excited. “Are the movies in the future in colour as well?”

“Yup.” Bucky felt warmth bloom in his chest as he watched Steve’s eyes light up, could almost see the gears working in his head. “Like I said, there’s lots of cool stuff about the future.”

“Tell me about it.” Steve demanded. “Where you come from. What it’s like.”

“Uh…” Bucky didn’t know where to start. “I don’t really know how to describe it Steve. Like I said, I live in Brooklyn but it’s changed a bit from here." He gestured out towards the city. "Lots more big fancy buildings and so many cars, like you wouldn’t believe how many cars we have nowadays. Technology has come on so far, we can do things you couldn’t even dream of. Medical stuff has made a lot of progress too. We don’t really get things like polio and scarlet fever much nowadays. I lost my arm on a mission in Siberia and they managed to fix that up pretty well too, although that was kind of a special case. Most people don’t have access to technology like this yet but working for SHIELD has its perks.”

He pulled off his metal glove and rolled up his sleeve, exposing the metal of his arm.

“I just thought the metal was part of your glove.” Steve exclaimed, looking amazed. “I didn’t realise it was your actual _arm_.”

His eyes ran over the gleaming metal and he reached out his hand before hesitating slightly.

“Can I touch it?” He asked and Bucky nodded.

Steve examined the arm with an artist’s eye, running his fingers lightly over each metal plate and round the grooves in the fingers. He flipped Bucky’s hand over and ran his thumb along Bucky’s palm, feeling the smoothness of the metal.

“It’s beautiful.” He said, looking up at Bucky.

Bucky tried to speak but he couldn’t find the words. He was grateful for the arm, sure. A metal arm was better than no arm and it was a good asset on missions with the additional strength. But there was a part of him that had always hated the appendage, hated how inhuman it looked. The area round his shoulder was a mess of scar tissue and he habitually wore a skin-coloured disguise when he went out as a civilian to avoid the staring. He had never thought of the arm as beautiful before. But looking at the awe in Steve’s eyes, the delicate way he touched the metal like it was a piece of art and a part of Bucky all at once, made Bucky feel warm inside.

“I wish I could see your world.” Steve said, still running his fingers lightly over Bucky’s arm. “I wish I could see what it was like.”

Bucky wanted to tell Steve everything, to describe it to Steve till Steve could almost see it for himself. He opened his mouth but paused, not sure how to explain how different his world was to Steve’s. There was too much to say.

“In the future everything’s…faster. Brighter. Louder.” He finally settled on, hating how unpoetic it sounded. “Some things got better but it’s not perfect. We still have problems. But yeah, it is pretty great. I think you’d enjoy it.”

“I’ve always wanted to see the future.” The awed look was still in Steve’s eyes but it had gained a wistful edge.

“I’ll take you one day.” Bucky promised and Steve’s head snapped up to stare at him, eyes wide. Bucky didn’t know why he was saying it, it was a stupid and naïve promise and one he wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep. But he could just imagine the look of wonder in Steve’s eyes as he saw all the marvels the future held. Bucky wanted to be the one who showed them to him, wanted to be the reason Steve smiled like he was doing now. “As soon as we’ve stopped Hydra, I promise.”

 _‘Don’t make promises you can’t keep Barnes’_ A voice that sounded suspiciously like Natasha whispered in the back of his head but he pushed it away.

Steve looked like he wanted to ask more and Bucky wished he could stay, wished he could spend all night describing the future to Steve. But Natasha would be waiting for him. He had already wasted too much time.

“I’m sorry Steve, I have to go.” Bucky said suddenly, trying to ignore Steve’s crestfallen look. “I have to get back to Natasha. Hydra’s still out there and who knows what they’ll do next. I have to stop them.” ‘ _I have to protect you’_ he thought but didn’t say it out loud.

Steve nodded in understanding but his eyes were downcast and his shoulders had slumped.

“Yeah, sure Buck. You don’t want to keep your partner waiting.”

Bucky wanted to reassure Steve, to do something to make him smile again but he didn’t know what to say.

“I’ll be back Steve,” He promised. “You know I’ll come back.”

“Yeah,” Steve said, turning his gaze back to Bucky. There was something in his eyes, an emotion Bucky couldn’t place.

“I know.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

The streets were quiet but Bucky still kept to the shadows as he made his way back to the spot where he had left Natasha. When he reached the alleyway he saw no traces of the fight that had taken place, not even a bloodstain.

“You took your time.” Natasha said, materialising from the darkness in front of him.

“I was making sure Steve got home safely.” Bucky said defensively and Natasha raised her eyebrow, looking unimpressed. She turned and led the way back to the doorway they had come through. It looked like it lead into a small shop but when she pulled it open there was only darkness beyond.

“Ladies first.” Bucky commented with a mock bow, sarcastically ushering her through. Natasha walked past him, unfazed and disappeared through the doorway. Bucky turned to look at the quiet Brooklyn streets one last time. Then with a shake of his head he turned and walked through the doorway and into the darkness.

 

 

* * *

 

 

He had barely made it to the other side when he heard the telltale beep of a communicator. Ahead of him Natasha flipper hers open and scanned it quickly, eyes darting across the screen as she took in the information. Then she turned to Bucky with a triumphant grin on her face.

“Stark’s analysed the data I sent him and he wants to talk to us right away.” He eyes were bright and her smile was sharp and deadly.

“It’s time we got some answers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally we're getting somewhere! Next chapter will reveal more of the plot and Bucky and Natasha will finally start to figure out what Hydra are planning...
> 
> Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear what you thought!


	4. Chapter 4

“You are many things Romanov, but boring definitely isn’t one of them.”

Stark’s voice crackled through the communicator, the remote location of the base causing a slight distortion to his words. Natasha rolled her eyes pointedly and Bucky gave her a commiserating look. While Stark didn’t technically work for SHIELD he’d consulted for them often enough that he might as well have. Bucky secretly liked the man, bizarre and eccentric though he was but he understood Natasha’s annoyance. While Stark was an extremely valuable asset to have on their side, his ego and incessant need to hear his own voice made working with him while in the field a major pain.  

Be that as it may, Bucky was grateful to have Stark helping them. If the data from the Hydra base had been sent to SHIELD’s analysists alone it would have taken them far longer to get back to their field team with results. Stark, however, loved a puzzle to solve and Bucky was unsurprised he’d contacted them within the hour. He could imagine the other man, sitting at his desk surrounded by holograms, flicking through the data Natasha had sent with the slightly manic gleam in his eye he always had when he was working.

“Hello to you too Stark.” Natasha replied curtly, bringing the device up to her mouth. “What do you have for us?”

“You wound me Romanov. Here I was thinking you’d just called to enjoy the sound of my voice.”

“Stark…” Natasha warned and Bucky could hear the laughter from the other end of the line.

“Fine, fine. But as I was saying Widow, you and Winter Wonderland over there are many things but boring has never been one of them. Other agents send me data and files, god endless files, full of junk to look over but you two, you always bring out the good stuff.”

“I take it you’ve looked over the scans we sent you?” Natasha asked and Bucky could hear the glee in Stark’s tone when he replied.

“Looked, looked again, checked with Fury that you two weren’t going crazy and the data was actually real. Yes, yes I did.”

“Then I take it,” Natasha asked through gritted teeth, obviously wanting to cut to the chase as quickly as humanely possible. “That you can give us some idea of what we’re dealing with here.”

“I’ve seen some strange things in my time helping SHEILD but those scans– definitely the weirdest.  The base you’re in right now is running off some kind of colossally powerful energy source. There are gamma rays involved but I can’t be any more specific than that. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The hotspots of energy I picked up on earlier are where Hydra seem to be channelling most of the power. They’ve concentrated extreme amounts of energy around a single point and used it…well, I said I didn’t believe the readings the first time I saw them. It looks like they’ve used the energy to travel in time.”

There was a long pause. Bucky didn’t know if Stark was expecting disbelief or applause from their end but he received neither. Instead Natasha grinned slightly and said in her most nonchalant tone,

“Thank you Tony. Now, do you have any information for us that we didn’t already know or was this just a social call?”

Bucky could just picture the look on Stark’s face and bit his lip slightly to keep himself from smiling. From the communicator he could hear Tony’s exaggerated gasp of offence.

“And there you go, ruining my surprise.” He told them, sounding affronted. “Well, since you asked so nicely, what Hydra have actually created are a series of points of mergence in space-time. They’ve used the energy from their mysterious source to bend space-time, sort of like folding a piece of paper. Now there’s a place where two parts touch that should never have been connected. From your perspective they’ve created a series of time portals. You step through one and you come out at the adjacent point in history where they’ve linked the portal up to.”

Natasha was nodding and Bucky could see the gears of her mind turning.

“We figured as much. There are several of these portals all over the base, all on top of the hotspots of energy activity and they all lead to points in the past. We’ve been through three and we need to know if it’s safe to investigate the others.”

“Safety is a matter of perspective.” Stark replied sarcastically but then his voice suddenly too on a serious tone. “But there’s something you need to know. Each of these portals is a stable, fixed system linking one physical place here to a specific time and place in the past. If you go through one, you’ll end up in that time and place. But if you come back and go through again well…you’ll end up in the same time and place again. The _exact same_ time and place. There’s enough movies about time travel out there to let you know that returning to the same time twice is a very bad idea. I don’t know if you’ll meet yourselves or create a parallel universe or what but much as I love a bit of adventure this time I think I’d advise you to avoid that particular paradox. So whatever you do, do not go through a door more than once. It must be the reason Hydra created so many in the first place. Whatever they’re looking for in the past, each time they go through a door they’ve only got one shot at it. They’re a bunch of evil crazy bastards but I don’t think even they would want to risk messing with time like that.”

Natasha turned to Bucky and he could see his own confusion reflected in her eyes. Stark was telling them that each door only connected to a specific point in the past but he had walked through the first door three times and each time he had been taken to a different time. The same place to be sure but years had passed in between.

Natasha quickly recounted all this for Stark and there was silence on the other side of the line for a few seconds. Finally he asked,

“The portal you’re talking about, is it the one in Zone 3 of the base?”

“Yes.” Natasha confirmed.

“That might explain it then.” Stark replied. “Most of the portals are running off the same power source and they’re currently reading as stable and active. But there’s one in Zone 3 which different to the rest. In fact, it’s running on a completely different power source. It’s very unstable, the energy readings are fluctuating constantly and Hydra have a code red warning attached to all the files that relate to it. If I’m right, which I will be, I would say it’s some kind of prototype. One of their earlier attempts. I don’t think it was ever supposed to be used, it’s too unstable.”

Bucky thought back to the deserted room, the disconcerting lack of guards, the lights of the control panel all blinking softly on stand-by. A prototype would make sense, a first attempt that was deemed too unstable and unpredictable to risk sending agents through. It would also explain the years that passed every time he went through the same door. If the energy was constantly fluctuating there was no way to hold a stable connection to one particular time. He was lucky he had just ended up in different years. An unstable time portal could have done much worse. One thing was for sure, he could never use that door again. Who knows where he would end up.

“Now that you’ve warned us about repeat performances with the doors, what can you tell us about Hydra’s plan?” Natasha asked into her communicator, jerking Bucky out of his line of thought.

“That will take a bit longer.” Came the reply. “I may be the best but those files are heavily encrypted and I’ll need more time to hack them. Less than the idiots at SHIELD would take but still. What I can tell you is that since all the portals are running from the same power source if you destroy it you should be able to collapse the portals and stop them doing any more damage in the past. But before you do, you need to make sure you’ve cleared out all the agents who’ve already gone through a portal. I don’t know about you but I’m not so hot on the idea of Neo-Nazis stuck in the past and screwing with history.”

“Get rid of the Strike teams, then target the power source. Got it.” Bucky called towards the communicator.

“Call us when you have more intel.” Natasha told Tony, before ending the call with a click. She turned to Bucky and Bucky recognised the predatory glint in her eyes.

“Alright Barnes, let’s get to work.”

 

* * *

 

 

Together they slipped through the corridors of the base, following the path laid out on their devices that would lead them to the next energy spike, and the next door. This time they were expecting the heavy steel door that awaited them and it was child’s play to bypass the security and break in. Both of them knew what to expect as the door swung open and they went in firing.

The Strike team that were standing in the room beyond were caught off guard. Two went down straight away with bullets between their eyes. The others scrambled to get their guns and barely had time to pull them from their holsters before Bucky and Natasha were on them. The fight was short, fast and brutal. Bucky slammed one agent into the wall with his metal arm and heard the crack of the man’s skull as it connected with the metal. From the corner of his eye he saw Natasha flip another man in her signature move and heard the snap of his neck before the body hit the floor.

It was only when Bucky heard the hydraulic hiss of a door opening that his attention broke from the fight. He and Natasha had dispatched almost all of the agents but one had clearly decided flight was a better option than fight. He had fled through a door in the other side of the room and Bucky knew that if they didn’t stop him soon within a minute there would be alarms and more guards than even the two of them could possibly deal with.

Natasha clearly realised it two and made a dash for the same door, hesitating only fractionally to glance back at Bucky.

“I’ll be fine.” He called, ducking a punch from one of the remaining guards. “You go get him.”

He saw her nod almost imperceptibly before spinning and disappearing through the door. Bucky turned his attention back to the fight and aimed a kick at the agents kneecap, bringing him swiftly down. A blow to the side of the head and the man hit the floor and didn’t move again. Bucky dispatched the final agent equally as swiftly and finally he was alone in the room.

From the lack of alarm he assumed Natasha had caught the other agent. He didn’t bother going after her, she was perfectly capable of handling a single Hydra agent on her own. Instead he turned to the far wall, staring at the wooden door it held. In the chaos of the first few minutes of the fight he hadn’t been able to tell if any of the agents had already gone through.

Making his way swiftly to the door, Bucky pulled it open, tightened his finger on the trigger of his gun and stepped through.

 

* * *

 

 

…And walked straight into a surprised Steve, knocking him over. The grocery bags Steve was carrying split, spilling the contents all over the ground.

“Steve!” Bucky exclaimed, sounding just as surprised as Steve looked. “Uh, hi?”

“Seriously Buck, you’ve been gone for a year, you turn up out of the blue and spill my damn groceries all over the sidewalk and the best you can do is ‘hi’?”

Bucky smiled despite himself. Whatever else had changed in the time he had been gone, Steve’s fiery temper had remained. He was glaring at Bucky in annoyance, surrounded by his spilled groceries but Bucky could see the twitch of his lips as he held back a smile.

“Sorry.” Bucky flashed him a quick grin and bent down to pick up some of the spilled food. He quickly took stock of his surroundings, realising suddenly that the door he had walked out of lead into the apartment building opposite the one Steve had taken him to the last time they met. Straightening up Bucky looked around and saw that he was indeed standing outside Steve’s own apartment building. The light was almost non-existent, already night time, and their stretch of alley seemed to be deserted, probably accounting for why no-one had been surprised at his rather sudden entrance. Scouring the area he could see no sign of any Hydra agents. He and Natasha must have gotten them all before they had a chance to come through then.

Bucky looked to the split bags lying on the ground and then at the pile of food in his arms. Steve had a similar pile and between them they had managed to gather up all of the spilled goods. The bags were beyond saving though so Bucky shouldered open the door of the apartment building, letting Steve take the lead to guide them up to his apartment.

“So,” Steve began, being the first one to break the silence. “No homicidal men from the future here to kill me this time?

“No,” Bucky laughed. “Just me. I found another door and needed to check that no-one had come through.”

 _‘I had to check that you were safe’_ he thought to himself but didn’t vocalise it.

Steve led them to his front door and pulled out his keys, balancing his groceries awkwardly on one arm as he fumbled with the lock. After a few second he got the door open and Bucky followed him through the doorway, making his way over to the kitchen table and depositing the items he was carrying onto it.

Then he stood, feeling slightly awkward. He didn’t know what to do, he had just come here to check that no Hydra agents had come through but after knocking into Steve it would have been rude to just leave. But now that he had completed his task to help he was at a loose end. He should really go back, but something compelled him to stay.

Steve saw Bucky’s eyes flicker towards the door and sighed.

“You have to go don’t you?” He asked and Bucky nodded mutely.

“Look, Buck…” Steve said hesitantly, his hand reaching up to run through his hair in a gesture of nervousness. “Why don’t you just…stay for a while.”

Bucky opened his mouth to protest but Steve beat him to it.

“I just mean,” He blurted out. “You look awful. You look like you haven’t slept in a week and you’ve got a bruise covering half your damn face. Why don’t you just stay here for the night, get some rest? You look like you need it.”

Bucky’s first instinct was to reject the offer. It was absurd. He needed to get back. The idea of staying the night here was…actually quite a good one. He had already established that no Hydra agents had come through the door. And there were significant time gaps between portals which meant no more would be appearing soon. And Steve was right, he was exhausted. In the weeks before this mission he hadn’t been sleeping well, the nightmares about the mission that had cost him his arm had been haunting him again and he had been tired before they even started this mission. Now, after hours of surveillance and combat he was dead on his feet. He had already established that no time passed in his world while he was here and he might as well take advantage of that. Rest now and have an advantage over the Hydra agents when he returned.

“Ok.” Bucky replied and Steve’s eyes widened a little in shock.

“Really?” He asked in disbelief, obviously not having expected Bucky to accept the offer.

“Really.” Bucky replied with a shrug. “You’re right, I could do with the rest. One night can’t hurt.”

“Right. Ok. Uh, there’s the bed.” Steve told him, motioning to the solitary bed in the corner of the room. “I’ll just grab a blanket and then you can have it.”

“Oh no, I am not taking the one bed and making you sleep on the floor.” Bucky exclaimed. “There’s room on there for both of us.

Steve looked a little scandalised and Bucky could see a tinge of pink in his cheeks. “Bucky, I’m not going to sleep in the same bed as you. What would your wife think?”

“My _what_?” Bucky’s mind ground to a halt. _Wife?_ Why the hell did Steve think he had a wife of all things? The only person from Bucky’s time he could possibly be taking about was…

“Natasha. Your wife. Partner. Whatever you call it in the future. Her.”

Bucky couldn’t help it, he laughed. The notion of Natasha being his wife was just so utterly ridiculous. Not only was she in a happy if complicated relationship with another of his best friends, she was like a sister to him. An annoying sister who refused to stop setting him up on dates and regularly kicked his ass in on the sparring mats.

“Natasha’s not my _wife.”_ He exclaimed after his laughter had died down. “She’s my partner. My work partner. Strictly friends only.”

Steve relaxed at that and finally returned Bucky’s smile. Bucky marvelled in the way it lit up his whole face, making him almost seem to glow in the dim light of the room.

“Good.” Steve said, his voice having lost the tension of the previous moments. “Because I don’t want to get on the wrong side of her. She was one scary lady.”

Bucky would have bristled at the perceived insult had Steve not said it with such a tone of respect and slight awe. As it was, Bucky would have to agree with him. Natasha was not the kind of person you wanted to get on the wrong side of.

He hummed in agreement and sat down heavily on the edge of the bed. It was only when the prospect of sleep was so near that he realised just how exhausted he was. Looking to Steve, he motioned to the spot next to him, silently asking if Steve would be joining him.

“Bucky,” Steve said in a slightly exasperated tone, although Bucky could see his resolve was wavering. “There’s no way we’ll both fit on the bed. I’ll take the floor, I don’t mind.”

“Not a chance Steve. It’ll be fine, trust me. Either you sleep on the bed too or I’ll take the floor.”

“Fine.” Steve rolled his eyes in exasperation. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

He turned to the groceries on the kitchen table. When Bucky made a move to get up and help, Steve waved him away.

“You go sleep Bucky. I wasn’t lying when I said you looked awful. I’ll come after I’ve finished up some things here.”

Bucky wanted to protest but the prospect of rest was too tempting. He didn’t understand it but he felt much more at peace here than he did in his bed at home. There he would lie awake for hours, staring at the ceiling and willing himself into unconsciousness, only to jerk awake a few hours later, sweaty and panicked. But here, in Steve’s apartment he felt oddly relaxed.

He meant to continue the conversation, to at least take of his tac gear before he drifted off. But as it was, he had barely finished pulling off his boots before his head hit the pillow and he was unconscious in moments.

 

* * *

 

 

Bucky awoke to sunlight streaming in the window and feeling better rested than he had in years. He stretched sleepily and rolled over, eliciting a yelp from Steve. The smaller man must have joined him after Bucky had fallen asleep and in the tight confines of the bed, Bucky had just rolled on top of him.

He could hear Steve’s muffled protests from under him and only had time to register Steve’s groan of “Get off me you big lug” before he was shoved unceremoniously off the bed. He hit the floor and looked up at Steve with a betrayed expression on his face.

Steve was mock glaring from above him, the effect somewhat ruined by the way his hair was sticking up all over his head. It was kind of adorable and Bucky had the sudden urge to ruffle it, which he quickly repressed. At Bucky’s hurt expression, Steve burst into laughter and swung himself out of the bed, offering Bucky a hand up from the floor.

“Serves you right for crushing me you idiot. I told you sharing the bed was a bad idea.”

Bucky took the hand with a grin and pulled himself up of the floor with as much dignity as he could muster.

“So,” He asked, “What’s on the schedule for today?”

Steve’s cheerful demeanour seemed to drop a little. His shoulders hunched slightly and he let out a small sigh.

“Not much. I lost my job a few weeks ago. They couldn’t afford to keep on a guy who gets sick as much as I do. And I haven’t been able to find any commissions lately either.” He looked at Bucky out of the corner of his eye. “And don’t you need to go back now anyway?”

He did. Bucky knew he did. But really, what harm could it do? It wasn’t like he was wasting any time in his world. He could go back now or in a month and he’d still end up in almost the exact same moment that he had left. And after spending the night here he felt…lighter. More cheerful than he had in weeks. As soon as he returned to the Hydra base he knew that he would lose that. The mission would come first and he would have to put everything else out of his mind. But it didn’t have to happen just yet. He could stay, just for one more day and no-one would ever know.

“Nah,” Bucky replied, stretching out his sleep-relaxed muscles. “How many times can a guy say he’s had a chance to spend a day in the past. I’d be an idiot to miss it. I think I’ll stick around for another day.”

Steve’s eyes lit up briefly before his expression fell again.

“Aw Buck. I wish I could give you a proper day out but…I don’t have the money.”

The last part was mumbled and Steve looked ashamed as he said it. Bucky felt awful. He knew Steve was poor, his bare bones apartment was more than enough proof, and he hadn’t intended to make Steve feel inadequate. He didn’t care what they did, he would be happy to spend the day just wandering round Brooklyn with Steve but Steve clearly felt embarrassed by his lack of money.

Bucky dug around in his pocket, praying he had some of SHEILD’s emergency cash in there. But to no avail. The mission he was on wasn’t one where money was expected to be needed and so SHIELD hadn’t provided him with any. All he had was a handful of loose change that had accumulated in the pocket of his inner jacket over a fairly long period of time. It was mainly broken down into small change, adding up to maybe five dollars in total.

“Sorry Steve, I only have about five dollars here which isn’t really going to get us very…far.”

He paused at the disbelieving look on Steve’s face.

“Five dollars. You have _five dollars_ just lying around in your pocket?”

“Uh, yes?” Bucky replied. “I take it that’s worth a bit more here than it is in my time?”

“It sure as hell is Buck.” Steve’s disbelieving expression had morphed into one of delight. “Do you know how much we can do in a day with five whole dollars?”

He grabbed Bucky’s hand and began to drag him out the room.

“Come on. We gotta find you some different clothes or you’ll give someone a heart attack. After that, well, I’ve always wanted to go to Coney Island…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adjusting for inflation, $5 in 1939 would be the equivalent of about $85.55.
> 
> And here it is, another (slightly late) chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it. This was a kind of relatively cheerful interlude, from here on out the plot will start to move forward much more and Steve and Bucky's relationship will progress and become more explicitly romantic. So you have that to look forward to!
> 
> I'd love to hear what you thought as comments and kudos keep me writing. Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Bucky slipped through the door cautiously, glancing around the room as he let it swing shut behind him. The room was exactly as he had left it, the Hydra agents still lying unmoving on the floor, the control panel still blinking with green light. From the lack of life in the room he assumed Natasha hadn’t returned from eliminating the escaped agent. Relief washed through him at the thought. She would never even have to know he had been gone, let alone how long he had been gone for…

Unfortunately for him, the universe decided it didn’t want to be that kind to him today. Just as the door closed with a final click, Natasha slipped into the room across from him, dragging the body of an unconscious Hydra agent with her.

Bucky could see the exact moment of realisation in her eyes, the way they narrowed fractionally as they took in the recently close door and the way Bucky was standing guiltily in front of it, empty handed with not even his gun drawn.

She unceremoniously dropped the agent she was carrying to the ground and stalked over to him, displeasure written clearly on her features. Bucky couldn’t blame her. She had every right to be angry but despite that he still felt a flash of defensiveness at her unspoken accusation.

They stood for a moment, eye to eye, locked in a silent argument that neither was willing to break. They knew each other too well and it showed, Natasha’s sharp eye cataloguing and calculating, drawing her own conclusions in the same way she read Bucky’s argument from his stiff posture and closed-off expression.

Finally, Natasha broke the stalemate, sighing slightly as she dropped her gaze to look Bucky up and down, noting the slight changes in his clothes, the way the dark circles under his eyes were far less prominent than they had been mere minutes ago.

“So,” She asked, voice betraying no emotion whatsoever. “How long did you stay this time?”

“Not long.” Bucky replied evasively. He could see Natasha reading the lie in his eyes and watched as she closed her own briefly.

“James, listen to me.” She said, fixing her gaze to his and holding him there with the intensity in her eyes. “I trust you and I trust your judgment. So I’m not going to ask questions. I just want you to promise me this; do not let this get in the way of the mission. Do not let yourself be emotionally compromised. Emotion on missions is what gets people killed. We both know that.”

Bucky wanted to protest, to swear that of course he wasn’t emotionally compromised by this. He was a SHIELD agent and a damn good one at that. Nothing about this mission would cloud his judgment. He wanted to say it but…he couldn’t. He couldn’t because he knew it wasn’t true. Somehow, along the way his mission objective had changed. Now, in place of the beating mantra of _‘stop Hydra’_ that had been ringing in his head at the start of this mission another imperative had taken over. _‘Protect Steve.’_ It whispered. _‘Keep him safe.’_ So far those two missions had coincided but if that changed…

Bucky stopped that train of thought right there. There was no use worrying what might happen. For now, acknowledging that he had become emotionally compromised was enough. Natasha was right, emotion on missions got people killed. But he wouldn’t let that happen. He would complete the mission, he wouldn’t risk Natasha’s safety but at the same time he would protect Steve from Hydra’s plans. He could do it all, he knew he could.

“I promise.” He replied, wincing internally at the half-truth.

Natasha studied his face for a few more moments but whatever she saw there seemed to satisfy her.

“Good.” She said finally, then smirked slightly. “Now let’s get moving. We still have a mission to complete. We can deal with your boyfriend afterwards.”

She ignored Bucky’s spluttered protest with her usual grace and tossed him a communication device, not unlike the ones they themselves carried. Cautiously he examined it, clicking it on and hearing the crackle of static as it whirred into life.

“I pulled it from the guard I tracked down.” Natasha answered the question hanging in the air. “All the agents in this base are using the same frequency for mass communication. Whatever they’re doing it’s a co-ordinated operation.”

Just as the words had left her mouth the device crackled into life, the first few words coming out nothing better than a garbled mess. The message repeated and this time Bucky could make out the voice on the other end, male and seemingly emotionless.

“Report, Gamma Squad. Report Gamma Squad. Gamma Squad do you read me?”

When no reply came the voice continued, broadcast to all the agents left in the base.

“Calling all agents. Alpha, Beta and Gamma Squad have all failed to report. Therefore we must assume their missions have failed and proceed as planned. Delta Squad, prepare to move.”

Bucky looked at Natasha and she nodded once. They didn’t need to speak. Instead they both drew their guns and made their way to the nearest exit, stepping over the bodies on the floor as they passed.

 

* * *

 

 

Hydra were many things but creative wasn’t one of them. Bucky felt almost a sense of déjà vu as he and Natasha crept side by side towards a sealed metal door, following the path to the nearest energy spike. There were six in total and he and Natasha had visited four, leaving only two left. They had a fifty-fifty chance to find whichever time window Strike Team Delta were planning on using and those were far better odds than either of them were used to working with.

Just like the previous times, he stood to the side as Natasha worked quickly to open the door. In a few seconds it had clicked open and they slipped through, guns drawn and ready.

They were greeted with an empty room. Identical to all the previous ones a control console stood in the middle, trailing wires and flashing with green blinking lights. On the far side stood another wooden door, just as old and worn as its predecessors. The room was silent save for the quiet hum of machinery buzzing round them and the faint noise of his and Natasha’s controlled breathing.

“There’s no-one here.” Bucky stated, and Natasha threw him a withering look that very clearly conveyed the _‘obviously’_ that she was refraining from saying. Bucky flashed her a quick grin before glancing round the room a final time.

“Strike Team Delta must have used the other door. If we hurry we can still probably intercept them.”

He turned to leave but Natasha’s voice stopped him.

“James wait. The controls in this room, they’re not on standby. The lights are green. Which means…”

“The team must have already gone through.” Bucky finished then swore violently. “We need to move.”

“Way ahead of you Barnes.” Natasha replied, already halfway to the door. In a few paces Bucky caught up with her and together they yanked the door open and ran through.

_‘I’m coming Steve.’_ Bucky thought the door began to close. _‘I promised.'_

 

* * *

 

 

Bucky barely had time to take in the scene before him before he acted. He was back in Steve’s apartment but he had no time to spare to register that fact because his gaze immediately zeroed in on the scene before him. Steve was kneeling on the floor in the centre of the apartment, bruises already blooming across his face and blood trickling down from his swelling nose. He looked a mess and Bucky could feel the rage swelling within him at the sight. Surrounding Steve was the Strike Team, all seemingly relaxed as they enjoy the show before them. Standing in front of Steve was what appeared to be the leader, a muscular man with dark hair and a skull and crossbones tattoo marring his left bicep. He had a gun levelled at Steve’s face, pointing right between his eyes. He was talking, his mocking tone reaching Bucky’s ears but the words he was saying remaining unheard.

At the sound of Bucky and Natasha’s sudden entrance the Strike Team startled, hands dropping to the guns that were holstered round their waists. The few precious seconds it took for them to react were their undoing. Bucky had already raised his gun and aimed it at the leader, firing a shot that sent the man diving out of the way. Bucky felt the recoil of a gun beside him and saw one of the slower agents drop, a small clean hole appearing in the centre of his forehead.

Both he and Natasha had entered the room running and neither of them stopped, charging straight into the ring of agents. Several of the men hesitated, unwilling to shoot with such a high risk of hitting their teammates. The hesitation cost them their lives.

Bucky brought up his gun and shot one, a clean headshot just like Natasha had done before. There was too much risk that the agents were wearing body armour for anything else and they had to do this quickly. Steve was still in the centre of the room, exposed and if just one of the agents got past their guard…

Bucky and Natasha had instinctively taken up their usual combat positions, back to back so he couldn’t see what she was doing. But he did hear the distinctive sound of a wire being pulled taught and the chocked off gurgle of one of the agents as Natasha sprang on him and wrapped the wire around his throat.

Natasha had broken out her close quarters weapons and Bucky did the same, drawing and flipping the knife strapped to his thigh with practiced ease. The agent before him raised his gun to fire and Bucky ducked under his aim, lashing out with the knife and catching the man across his leg. He buckled and Bucky took advantage of the weakness, slashing the knife in a red arc across the man’s throat and watching as he fell. Behind him he heard a crack, the sound of the delicate bones of a neck breaking and a thud as the body hit the ground.

Another of the agents tried to fire at Bucky and again Bucky dodged, throwing himself out of the way and rolling across the floor, coming up in a crouch with his knife in one hand and his gun clutched in the other. Seeing another agent approach out of the corner of his eye he flipped his knife and hurled it, barely acknowledging the agent fall before he brought up his gun and fired, bringing the second agent down in the same heartbeat.

From the corner of his eye he could see Natasha fighting hand to hand with one of the remaining agents. Bucky started over to help her but barely made it two steps before a fist was flying at his face. He grabbed in on instinct, twisting it viciously and watching as the man it belonged to cried out in pain. He was so focused on his target that he almost missed the sound of a gun cocking, the weapon aimed straight for his head. He tried to duck out of the way but knew it was too late.

But instead of a shot he heard a cry of pain and looked around just in time to see the man who had been aiming at him crumple, Bucky’s own knife sticking out of his thigh. Behind him knelt Steve, hands bloody from where he had yanked the knife out of the dead agent and slammed it into the leg of Bucky’s would be assailant.

The man howled in pain and before he could react Bucky brought his gun round and fired, not willing to leave Steve to the man’s wrath. In his moment of distraction the agent whose wrist he had grabbed broke free and swung a fist at his face, catching the side of Bucky’s head and leaving his ears ringing.

Ignoring the sudden pain in his head Bucky ducked low, tackling the man to the ground with brute strength and smashing his metal fist into the man’s face, hearing the crack and feeling the man go limp beneath him.

When he looked up he saw that most of the agents were down, bodies strewn across the floor. Natasha was fighting what seemed to be the last of them, blocking his punches and aiming a vicious swipe at his legs that knocked him to the floor. Bucky almost relaxed, scanning the room before feeling himself freeze in terror.

The man with the tattoo, the leader of the Strike Team and the man who had dived out of the way of Bucky’s first shot was crouched behind the couch, aiming his pistol across the room, not at Natasha and Bucky but at where Steve knelt, hunched over and wheezing. Bucky didn’t have time to think, he took a running leap and dived at Steve, knocking him flat and rolling them both over and out of the way of the shot that skimmed over his shoulder, missing them by inches.

He sprung up in a protective crouch, angling himself between Steve and the man in front of him. The agent snarled at the missed shot and lunged at Bucky. Bucky sprung up to meet him and their bodies collided at full force.

The fight was brutal and messy. Bucky slammed the gun out of the agent’s hand and the man retaliated by smashing his fist into Bucky’s stomach. Even with his protective body armour the hit hurt and Buck staggered a little before straightening up and slamming his forehead into the man’s face. The hit should have knocked him down but instead the agent just reeled back a few steps, blood pouring from his nose. Then he returned to the attack and he and Bucky fought, blocking punches and grappling, each trying to hurl the other off.

The agent was good, Bucky would admit it but he was better. He dodged another of the man’s blows and dropped, using the momentum to swipe the man’s legs out from under him. The agent hit the floor and in the instant the fight broke apart there was a shot, echoing round the room. The agent slumped to the floor, eyes wide and unseeing. Behind him Natasha stood, her gun held steadily before her.

“You were taking too long.” She said in a deadpan tone. "You can thank me later."

Bucky stood up, surveying the carnage around them. The strike team were scattered around them, unmoving. Steve was still where Bucky had left him but he had levered himself into a sitting position and was eyeing the scene before him with remarkable composure.

Bucky hurried over and offered his hand, pulling Steve to his feet. Steve’s hands were still sticky with the blood of the man he had stabbed, the one whose shot would have killed Bucky had Steve not been there. As if reading Bucky’s thoughts Steve looked down at his own hands and recoiled slightly at the sight. Bucky sensed the horror in him and closed both his hands over Steve’s blocking the blood from view.

“Thank you.” He said, looking Steve in the eye and hoping his expression would convey what his words could not. ‘ _They were going to kill you. You didn’t have a choice._ ’

Steve swallowed and looked up at him, relaxing fractionally at Bucky’s words. He took a deep breath and then clenched his jaw, his eyes hardening as he pushed whatever he was feeling away.

“You too.” He replied and although his tone was strained Bucky could hear the faint glimmer of humour beneath it. “Although I could’ve taken them myself. I had ‘em on the ropes.”

Bucky was fairly sure being held at gunpoint execution style didn’t count as ‘having them on the ropes’ but he decided not to comment.

“We need to move.”

Natasha’s voice broke the moment and Bucky turned reluctantly towards her.

“We need to get rid of the bodies. We can’t have them lying about for anyone to find, it’s too dangerous.”

Bucky nodded in agreement and grabbed the body of the nearest agent, dragging him over to the door. Yanking it open he hesitated, gazing into the blackness before him. He couldn’t take the body back himself, stepping through the door carried too high a risk of not being able to return. Instead he settled for tossing the body through the doorway, hoping it made it back to the proper time. It wasn’t as if the man was going to wake up after all.

Natasha seemed to have the same idea, dragging the body of another agent to the door and tossing him through. Together with Steve’s help they cleared the room of evidence, removing any trace of the future from the tiny apartment.

Finally they stood together in the empty apartment, tension hanging thickly in the air.  Finally Natasha broke it with a question, directing it at Steve.

“The agent who was going to shoot you, he was talking when you arrived. What did he say?”

Steve shrugged, his brows furrowing a little.

“He didn’t make much sense. They were all laughing when they grabbed me and when I struggled he gave me this.” Steve motioned to the bruise that was blooming across his face and Bucky clenched his fists in anger.

"Then he forced me to kneel," Steve continued, "And started gloating about how ‘Hydra’ would be victorious and how he couldn’t believe that someone as pathetic as me would ever turn into…well...”

He glanced sideways at Bucky, a wry expression on his face. “I didn’t really catch the last part seeing as that’s when you burst in and shot at him.”

Bucky let a small grin twist the corner of his mouth.

“You’re welcome.”

“When you two are finished flirting,” Natasha stated dryly, causing Steve to turn bright red and splutter in protest. “We have to get back. If you recall there’s still one more door which means there’s most likely still one of those Strike Teams waiting to ambush Steve in a few minutes, or years depending on your perspective.”

She began to walk towards the door and Bucky made to follow her before hesitating. He couldn’t just leave Steve like this, he had to stay, had to do more.

“Uh, Nat?” He began, hoping she would understand what he needed to do. “I’m gonna stay for a few minutes. Make sure Steve’s ok and all that.”

Natasha gave him a long look and Bucky could see her weighing up the options in her mind. Finally she nodded, although she didn’t look particularly pleased with the situation.

“Fine. But remember your promise James.”

With that she turned and walked through the door, allowing it to swing shut behind her.

“What did she mean?” Steve asked, curiosity obvious in his tone. “What promise?”

“It doesn’t matter Steve.” Bucky sighed, running his hands through his hair and repressing the urge to sigh. This was turning into one hell of a mission and he felt physically and emotionally drained. Turning back to Steve he observed him with a critical eye.

“Steve, I need you to be honest with me. Are you ok? I mean really, are you ok?”

Steve let out a small sigh and made his way to the single chair in the apartment, slumping down in it like a puppet with its string cut.

“Yeah Buck, I’m fine.” He said, looking as worn out as Bucky felt. “I’ve been in fights before. And I don’t exactly live in the good end of Brooklyn if you know what I mean. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen…”

He trailed off, indicating the floor where minutes before bodies had lain.

“Anyway,” He continued, looking up at Bucky again. “There’s a war on in Europe and I’m pretty sure than soon we’ll get involved. We can’t not, not with the stuff the papers have been saying is going on over there. And if that happens then I’m going to fight. I’ll have to get used to stuff like this if I’m going to be a soldier.”

_War?_ Bucky thought, mind flashing back to all the history he could remember.

“Steve, what year is this?” He asked out loud, dreading the answer.

“1941.” Steve replied and Bucky closed his eyes briefly. By the end of the year America would be at war. And Steve would try and join the army to fight. Bucky knew his history, he had studied battle plans from the Second World War, knew the strategies and tactics and brutality that would be employed to win. Hell, this war was when Hydra had first raised its ugly head. And it was said SHIELD had been formed from the old SSR division that had been formed to combat it. For the first time Bucky really understood what it meant to be in the past. For him it was just theory but to Steve and the people around him it would very soon become a reality. A brutal and bloody reality.

_‘But its ok.’_ He reassured himself mentally. _‘Steve may be brave but there’s no way any doctor in their right mind would let him fight He’ll be safe.’_

“You know something.” Steve’s voice broke through his musings and brought him crashing back down to the present. “You know what’s going to happen don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do.” Bucky replied. He wanted to elaborate, to tell Steve everything but he refrained. It was too dangerous. They were already messing with the past as it was, he couldn’t risk giving Steve knowledge of the future that could change everything.

“I won’t ask you to tell me.” Steve continued and Bucky mentally sighed in relief. “I’ve read enough pulp magazines to know that you can’t go round messing with the past. His tone was light and joking and Bucky felt some of the tension in the room disappear.

“Anyway,” Steve continued, his tone suddenly turning into something more serious. “If you come from the future it can’t end that badly. You’re too good to come from a future where the bad guys win.”

Bucky felt an unnamed emotion rise in his chest and struggled to push it down. ‘ _Remember what Natasha said.’_ He berated himself. ‘ _No emotional compromise._ _Get it together Barnes.’_

There was a long moment of silence before Steve stood up, groaning a little as his back cracked from the movement. He grabbed his keys from the kitchen table and straightened up, looking over at Bucky.

“Anyway,” he continued, his tone nonchalant. “I need to check on the neighbours, make sure they didn’t hear anything. Right now they should all be out but better safe than sorry.”

Bucky made as if to follow him but Steve waved him away, gesturing to Bucky’s uniform, now smeared in places with blood.

“No offence Buck but I’m trying to convince them everything’s ok, not scare them to death.”

Bucky could see the wisdom in that statement and held back as Steve walked to the door and pulled it open.

“I’ll just be a few minutes.” He called over his shoulder to Bucky. “You’d better still be here when I get back.”

Bucky snorted in reply and Steve grinned at him before stepping outside and pulling the door shut behind him.

After Steve had gone Bucky stood for a minute, unsure of what to do. He wandered aimlessly around the apartment for a few minutes, taking in the minimal furniture and the overall battered appearance of the place. Finally his eyes landed on the kitchen table. There were a few objects scattered about but the one that really caught his eyes was the sketchbook, lying closed and unassuming amidst the clutter.

He glanced around cautiously, listening intently for any sound of Steve returning. It was an invasion of privacy he knew but curiosity won out in the end. He had wanted to see Steve’s drawings ever since Steve had sketched him on the fire escape all those years ago.

Hesitantly he ran his fingers over the cover of the book before flipping it open at random. A cityscape gazed back at him, beautifully rendered in Steve’s artistic hand. Bucky flipped the page and saw a scrawny alley cat, curled up asleep in a patch of sunlight. He smiled at that, tracing his fingers over the carefully drawn lines. Steve had an amazing talent, there was no denying it. Eagerly he flipped the page again, this time coming across a page of what looked like anatomy practice. There was no distinct form, just a jumble of body parts, eyes and lips and hands and…wait. There was something familiar about those eyes.

Bucky flipped the page again and came face to face with himself. It clearly wasn’t the drawing Steve had done when he as a teenager. It was too good for that, rendered with a precision that had to have taken years of practice. In it Bucky wasn’t gazing out into the city as he had been doing that night. Instead he  was smiling up from the page, face caught in a rare moment of unfettered happiness.

Bucky felt his throat tighten and flipped the page again. Again he saw himself gazing back, this time with a more serious look on his face. Bucky flipped again and again. It was all the same. A few pictures here and there of landscapes, people and random objects, all separated by pages and pages of Bucky himself. Him smiling, laughing, sleeping with a more peaceful expression than he could ever remember having on his face. Studies of Bucky’s arm, his hands, his eyes, all captured on the page by Steve’s expert hand. Bucky checked the dates of each pictures and mentally calculated as his flipped back through the years of Steve’s life.

The sound of the door startled Bucky and he slammed the book shut as fast as he could, practically leaping away from the table and schooling his face into the most innocent expression he could manage. He would deal with the feelings that had arisen in him later, when he had time to think. For now he had to act as normal as possible.

His expression was obviously good enough as Steve made no comment as he walked back into the apartment.

“I was right.” Steve told him, locking the door behind him. “This time of night on a Friday everyone’s either out having fun or deaf as a doorknob like Mrs Fergus next door. No-one’s gonna call the cops on us at least.

“That’s good.” Bucky replied, cringing as he heard how stiff and awkward it came out. Steve glanced at him strangely, eyes searching his face. Bucky desperately tried to think of another topic of conversation and latched on to the first thing that came to mind.

“You say everyone’s out having fun tonight. Any chance we can join them?” He followed the sentence with an exaggerated wink which seemed to successfully distract Steve from his previous train of thought.

“No on your life.” He snorted. “The dance hall are fun at this time but there’s no way in hell you’ll get me into one of them. I’m a terrible dancer.”

“Aw come on Stevie, you can’t be that bad.” Bucky teased and Steve raised his eyebrow, almost challengingly.

Bucky grinned and felt a flash of mischievousness spark through him.

“Alright then,” He challenged. “Prove it.”

Steve looked at him in mixture of amusement and disbelief.

“You want me to prove I’m a bad dancer?”

“Yup.” Bucky grinned, and he could feel Steve indignation and desire to rise to the challenge.

“Wait,” Steve held up his hands in a halting gesture. “What’s dancing even like in the future. Do you even dance?”

Bucky’s mind immediately flashed back to all the nightclubs he had been in, the sweaty press of bodies against his own, the feel of skin on skin. Swallowing he pushed those memories down and prayed his thoughts didn’t show on his face.

“Uh, yeah, but it’s a little different to the dancing you’re used to. But it’s cool, I used to date a girl who did swing in college. I’m sure I can work it out.”

Steve looked even more disbelieving but just as Bucky had predicted he refused to back down from a challenge, even one as ridiculous as this one. Instead he walked over to the record player and dug out a dusty old record from the stack.

“I don’t have much music.” He called over his shoulder. “I can’t really afford to buy the new stuff so everything I have is from Ma’s old collection, although…” He trailed off looking at Bucky. “It probably doesn’t matter to you anyway.”

Bucky put on a mock offended expression and clutched his chest in pretend hurt.

“I’ll have you know as someone from the twenty-first century I have extensive knowledge of music from the nineteen thirties. I’m a spy you know, we have to know these things.”

Steve laughed and brought out a record, placing it carefully on the player. There was a short crackled as it sprung to life and then the first few notes of a bright upbeat song drifted out.

Bucky held out his hand and Steve took it, still laughing.

 

* * *

 

 

After a few minutes Bucky could safely say that Steve hadn’t been lying. He truly was a terrible dancer. He spent most of time stepping on Bucky’s toes and crashing into him. Bucky wasn’t much better. He also hadn’t been lying when he said he was a good dancer but he knew very little about the swing style he was trying to replicate and he was sure that they both looked ridiculous.

But Steve was laughing and smiling and Bucky found he didn’t care one bit about how they looked. He was happy, happier than he could remember being for a long time. He and Steve were laughing and tripping over each other and it made Bucky’s heart swell.

Finally the record stopped and he and Steve stumbled to a halt, still laughing.

“Maybe,” Bucky choked out between snorts of laughter. “We should pick something a bit slower this time. Then you might not crush my toes as much.”

“Hey!” Steve protested indignantly. “You stepped on _my_ toes at least as much as I stepped on yours.”

Still grinning he turned back to the record player and removed the record, swapping it for another from the pile. He slipped the new record on and made his back over to Bucky as the first notes rang out.

Bucky froze slightly at the melody as the rich sounds of a female voice drifted around them. Steve had taken Bucky at face value, putting on something much slower. Suddenly Bucky was nervous. This was a bad idea. He should have gone back with Natasha. He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t be doing this.

But Steve had taken his hands again and Bucky went willingly. They moved much slower this time. Bucky realised he was holding Steve closer, much closer than they had been standing when this was all a joke, a dare between friends. Safe.

The melody continued on and Bucky spun Steve round the apartment, keeping to the slow mournful beat of the song that drifted around them. The notes of the melody were sweet and sad and Bucky  lost himself to the music and the rhythm of the dance.

He was sharply pulled back to reality when Steve pulled him to a stop however, and lips were pressed against his, hesitant and soft. Instinctively Bucky opened his mouth and Steve pressed closer, stretching up and deepening the kissed. Bucky made a soft noise of surprise and Steve pulled away, a look of horror flashing in his eyes. He wrenched himself apart from Bucky and stumbled back, shaking his head furiously.

“I’m sorry.” He gasped out, not meeting Bucky’s eyes. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean…I didn’t mean to…”

“Steve wait!” Bucky called but it was too late. Steve had already fled. Bucky was standing between him and the door so he took the only other exit available to him, scrambling out of the window and onto the fire escape beyond.

Bucky crossed the room in a few strides and leapt out after him, catching Steve around the arm before he could flee downwards.

“Steve wait.” Bucky repeated, trying to sound as placating as possible. “Look, just calm down a second.”

Steve wrenched his arm away from Bucky and squared his shoulders, his face completely shut down.

“If you’re gonna hit me then get it over with.” He said, he voice tight and his eyes flashing with a mixture of anger and defiance.

Bucky stared at him in disbelief.

“I’m not gonna hit you Steve.” He said finally, praying that Steve would stop looking at him with such hurt in his gaze. When he didn’t Bucky tried again.

“What you did…kissing me…Steve I don’t mind. I mean I really don’t mind.”

“You don’t…care?” Steve asked suspiciously, tension still radiating from him.

“No.” Bucky replied, searching for what to say. “You remember how I said I dated a girl in college? Well after we broke up I got together with a guy. We were together for a few years, broke up when I joined the army, look it’s not important. What I’m trying to say is a really really don’t mind that you kissed me.”

“You dated another man.” Steve looked at him, shocked. “And no-one stopped you? No-one cared?”

“Look, I’m not saying _no-one_ cared. There are still a few assholes around in my time that’ll try and kick up a fuss. But for the most part, no, no-one cared that I was with another guy. I told you things have changed in the future Steve and this is one of them.”

Steve still looked shocked, as if he was trying to wrap his head around this new information.

“So you’re telling me,” He said slowly. “ That in the future it’s legal to…be with another man. In that way.”

“Yes.”

Steve took a deep breath and took a second to compose himself. Then he turned back to Bucky looking more serious than he had all evening.

“Listen Bucky. What I did, I’ve been wanting to do that for a while. For years. I think I’ve loved you for nearly my whole life. But you’re, well, you…” He gestured to Bucky with a slight grimace. “…and I’m…me. If you really do date guys where you come from I’m pretty damn sure they don’t look like I do. So if this is just a pity thing, please stop.”

“Steve.” Bucky said, taking Steve’s face in his hands. He could feel his emotions roiling inside of him but he knew one thing for sure and that was that he had to let Steve know the truth.

“It’s not pity. I promise you that. You remember that promise I made to Natasha? I promised her that I wouldn’t get compromised by this mission. Emotionally compromised. She made me promise because she knew what was happening to me. She could tell how I had begun to feel..." He paused for a second, swallowing hard before continuing. "How I had begun to feel about you.”

Steve stared at him for a few moments, eyes searching.

“Promise me.” He said, his voice hard and demanding. “Promise me that this is real.”

“I promise.” Bucky swore and suddenly Steve was kissing him again.

It was rough and a little desperate. Steve clearly hadn’t had much practice and his technique left much to be desired but it was still the best damn kiss of Bucky’s life. He grabbed Steve by the waist and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. Steve relaxed into him, the tension draining from his body and his hands came up to grasp Bucky’s shoulders.

After a few minutes they broke apart and Steve pressed his forehead to Bucky’s his eyes still closed from the kiss.

“When I was a kid at night I used to get scared because I thought Hydra agents were coming to get me." He whispered, still pressed against Bucky, their breaths mingling in the night air. "But when I dreamed at night they weren't nightmares because I always knew you were there. I knew you would be there for me. You were such a good dream sometimes I could barely believe you were real.”

“Steve…” Bucky started, then trailed off, unsure of what to say. He couldn’t even begin to voice what he was feeling, the emotions bubbling in his chest, threating to burst over. Instead he leaned down and kissed Steve again.

Eventually Steve broke away from him, sighing. He turned, facing out into the city with his profile facing Bucky, leaning up against the metal of the fire escape. There was a faraway look in his eyes as he stared unfocused at the lights beyond them.

“You have to go back don’t you?” He asked and it was more a statement than a question. Bucky nodded mutely and Steve turned back to face him, a sadness in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“How many years will it be this time, before I see you again?”

Bucky shrugged helplessly, hating how inadequate he felt. He wanted to stay, to promise Steve he would never leave but he couldn’t. Hydra was still out there and while they were there Steve was in danger. Bucky couldn’t risk that. He couldn’t.

“I don’t know Steve.” He finally replied, trying to ignore his feelings of regret. “But there’s only one more door. One more door and then this will be over. Hydra will have been stopped and then I’ll come back. After all, I did promise to take you to see the future.”

Steve looked at him with a small smile on his face, even though the sadness still lingered in his eyes.

“It’s not fair really.” He said, but there was no resentment in his tone. “You can just jump in and out of my life like it’s nothing while here I am, stuck on the slow path. Waiting for you. Never knowing when you’ll come back. But if that’s the price I have to pay for meeting you then it’ll have been worth it.”

Bucky felt his throat tighten and turned away, making as if to leave. He had to go, now, before he could no longer bring himself to. But Steve’s hand on his arm stopped him.

“I know you have to leave Buck. But please, just for tonight. Stay.”

And so Bucky stayed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Bucky and Steve initially dance to is 'Bing Crosby - Did You Ever See A Dream Walking - 1933' because it's ridiculously appropriate for Steve and Bucky's relationship in this fic. The second slower song was, in my head, 'Vera Lynn - From The Time You Say Goodbye' because again, ridiculously appropriate. However this song didn't come out until a few years after this chapter is set so you can either just pretend like me or pick another slow dance song for Steve and Bucky to fall in love to. 
> 
> And there's chapter 5 folks! I'm sorry it took so long, I had to take a break from writing due to exams but now I should be back to a regular updating schedule with a chapter about once a week. And now the Steve/Bucky tag has finally come into play!
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed it and please drop me a comment to let me know what you thought.


	6. Chapter 6

There was an ache in Bucky’s chest as he stepped through the doorway and pulled the door softly shut behind him. He could still see Steve’s face in his mind’s eye, the way his eyes shone in the darkness and his hair glinted softly in the moonlight. The feel of Steve’s hands – artist’s hands – on his skin. He wanted nothing more than to go back, to wrench open the door and run back through to where Steve would be waiting.

But he couldn’t. The ache in his chest grew and he closed his eyes briefly. He just couldn’t. He still had a mission to complete. Steve would never be safe until Hydra was stopped and it was up to Bucky and Natasha to stop them, whatever the cost.

When he looked up Natasha was waiting for him, a knowing look in her eyes. She dipped her head briefly in acknowledgment and Bucky was infinitely grateful for it. There was no need for questions or inquiries between them. They had an understanding that went deeper than words and Bucky knew that Natasha’s silent acknowledgment was worth far more than any kind of false platitude that could be offered.

He took a deep breath then squared his shoulders, mentally bracing himself for what was to come.

“There’s only one door left.” He stated, looking Natasha square in the eye. One door and then it would all be over. One door and then the danger would be gone. One door and then maybe, just maybe, he would be able to finally make good on his promise to Steve.

“Then what are we waiting for? She replied, her lips quirking up into a deadly smirk.

They began to make their way to the exit but before either one of them could take more than a few steps a chirrup from Natasha’s communicator froze them in their tracks. She unhooked it from her belt and glanced down briefly, eyes quickly scanning the screen.

“It’s Stark.” She told him and Bucky felt his heart quicken a little in his chest. Whatever Stark was about to tell them, it was unlikely to be good news.

With practiced ease, Natasha activated the comm and brought it to chest height between them, allowing Stark’s voice to fill the empty space.

“Widow? Winter? You still alive over there?”

Bucky fought down the sarcastic comment that had risen the tip of his tongue at the sound of Stark’s voice and instead opted for a more simple, “Winter and Widow copy, over.”

“Barnes!” Stark’s tone of mock delight exclaimed. “Good to know you’re both still kicking. Now, I have some information I think you might want to hear.”

He paused for greater effect and Natasha’s eyes narrowed in annoyance.

“If you’ve got something to tell us, tell us now Stark. We’ve cleared all the portals except one and the same goes for the strike teams. Now we’re running out of time and we need to clear the final door and shut down the power source before Hydra finishes their mission, unless you feel like living in whatever fascist alternate future Hydra has been trying to create.”

“Charming as that sounds Romanov I think I’ll pass. But as for shutting down the power source, there may be a few…well…complications…”

He let the sentence trail off and Bucky and Natasha exchanged a look, both waiting impatiently for him to continue.

“While I’ve been busy decrypting the data you sent, I’ve had JARVIS monitor the mainframe of the base from when you hacked into their system. And it seems Hydra might have finally realised not everything is going to plan.”

On the surface, Stark sounded his usually flippant self but Bucky could hear the undercurrent of worry in his words. Anything that made Stark nervous couldn’t be good and he mentally braced himself for the news.

“It looks like they’ve worked out someone’s infiltrated the base and they know this is their last shot. They only have one door and one Strike team left. And so it seems they’ve started some kind of failsafe. The energy source the portals are running on is powerful, exceptionally so. But it’s also unstable. Very unstable. As far as JARVIS can tell the portals are a system, linked by the main power source. And Hydra have just made their unstable power source even more unstable. It’s balancing on the edge of a knife here, a tiny power fluctuation will set it off.”

“And how exactly can we avoid ‘setting it off’?” Natasha asked in a deadpan. Although it didn’t show in her voice Bucky could feel her apprehension.

“Ah, that’s where the problem comes in.” Stark replied. “There’s a power fluctuation any time anyone uses one of the portals. According to JARVIS the final Strike team already used the last door before the failsafe was set up but anyone else who tries to go through will trigger it. Essentially, trying to use one of the portals will cause a power surge that will short out the whole system. Every single door connected to the main source will be zapped with it. The portals will stop working. All of them. And whoever used them will have no way to get back. Essentially, they’ll be stuck in the past.”

There was a moment of shocked silence as Bucky and Natasha took in the new information and all the implications that went with it. Finally, Bucky broke the silence.

“You said the Strike team had already gone through. Which means there’s a bunch of neo-nazis with free reign over the past unless someone goes back to stop them.”

“Got it in one.” Came the reply, but the tone was far less casual than Bucky was used to. Instead Stark sounded concerned. It was such a foreign notion that Bucky almost laughed. He would have if not for the seriousness of the situation finally hitting him.

Hydra had to be stopped, at all costs. And currently the only way they had to do that was through the final portal, a portal which was now a guaranteed one way trip.

“There’s another thing.” Stark added, his voice still muted. “I’ve decrypted most of the Hydra files you sent me. And it seems you were right. They’re not tracking an event or object in the past, they’re tracking a person. They’ve got a biological sample and they’re using it to follow the timeline of one specific person, poor bastard. The technology isn’t very precise, probably why all the portals come at such random intervals but they’re definitely following the timeline of someone’s life. I ran the DNA through SHIELD files but I keep getting hit with a big wall of Classified every time. Level 10 security encryption. I think there are probably only two people in the world who have that kind of clearance. Whoever this person is, they must be important if SHIELD wants them secret and Hydra wants them dead.”

_Steve._ Bucky thought, feeling his heart leap into his throat. _It’s Steve._

They had already known of course. Meeting Steve in the past so many times, Hydra strike teams targeting him over and over again. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Of course it was Steve that Hydra wanted. But this was the proof, the cold hard evidence that stated that Hydra was doing everything in its power to kill Steve before…before what?

Despite the deadly seriousness of the situation, Bucky felt what could almost be described as pride rise in his chest. He had always known Steve was special. Could see the lion’s heart that hid in his frail chest. He had ranted and raved as Steve described all the times he had been looked over, ignored or mocked because of his frail size, his rasping lungs, his weak heart. To hear that someday Steve would be important enough to have his very DNA classified by SHIELD made Bucky want to laugh in glee. Someday people would recognise Steve for what he truly was. Someday Steve would have the chance to show the world what an amazing person he was, to do something so great and history-making that Hydra was willing to rip holes in the fabric of the universe to stop him.

And there was the catch. Because Hydra was willing to do whatever it took to stop Steve. And whatever incredible thing Steve would someday do would be wiped from history as soon as a Hydra agent put a bullet in the back of his head. The thought of Steve’s eyes, pale and lifeless and devoid of all the joy and hope and love Bucky had come to know made him want to vomit. He couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t.

“So we stop them.”

Natasha’s voice cut through his thoughts and he could hear the bitter resolve in her tone.

“Winter and I will access the last portal and deal with the final Strike team. I’ll radio in and get SHIELD to send in another team to do clean up here once we’re gone and make sure any of Hydra’s work is either locked away or destroyed so this won’t ever happen again.”

There was an edge to her voice that Bucky had only heard a few times before and hearing it come from Natasha now abruptly brought the reality of their situation crashing down on him. They were about to strand themselves in the past, lost in a place where they had no money, no contacts, no fallback and no plan. They both had extremely specific skillsets and he knew if anyone could survive this then it was them. But the thought of being lost in a strange world, where nothing was the same and none of the truths they had come to know would necessarily hold true anymore was a truly terrifying though.

And on top of all that, they would be walking straight into a world on the brink of war, of a war that would burn through countries like wildfire and raze everything in its wake. All of the horrors of history suddenly became very real in his eyes as he thought of the war as he knew it, the mud and trenches, sickness and death as much a constant companion as the rifle in a soldier’s hand. If he stranded himself in the past, would he be sent off to fight? Steve was safe, his illnesses would keep him far from the battlefield but Bucky was young and strong. The army would snap him up in an instant and with his skills there would be no way he would be kept from the fighting. Bucky was a hardened SHIELD agent, he’d had dealt with missions and horrors that would drive lesser men to madness. But war was different. War was huge. War could destroy everything.

But he would do it. Bucky knew that he would walk into hell and back to keep Steve safe. If stranding himself in the past was what he had to do then there was no question about it. He would go, and the memory of seeing Steve’s face again would be enough to keep him going through whatever history might throw at him.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Bucky and Natasha were silent as they slipped through the base, the light treads of their footfalls echoing off the empty walls. There was a prominent sense of déjà vu as they made their way down the corridors, past the metal door and into the final room, identical in every way to the others except for the flashing red warning lights that lit the place up with an eerie glow.

The room was silent and the door loomed before them, deceptive in its innocence, the worn wood looking so alien against the metal and harsh lighting.

Next to him, Natasha ran a hand lightly over the control panel, fingers trailing over one of the flashing warning lights with an uncharacteristic gentleness. When Bucky looked at her face there was a strange, faraway look in her eyes.

“When I was a child in the KGB, they used to tell us stories of the greatness of the USSR in the height of its power. I guess now I’ll get to see it for myself.”

Her tone was wry but there was a sadness in her voice that Bucky would do anything to prevent. However much of a sacrifice this would be for him, it would be infinitely worse for her. Bucky had little to attach him to this life, just a few friends who would do fine without him and an empty apartment from which he would barely be missed. And through that door there was Steve. Even if he had nothing else he would have Steve.

But Natasha had had to fight for every scrap of happiness that she had ever posessed. She had carved a new life in America and SHIELD through sheer force of will and everything she had gained had been done so through more than just blood and tears. She had someone who truly cared for her here, someone who she loved and who loved her, although she would never admit it. It might not be a perfect life but she had fought for it every step of the way. Bucky knew, a testament to their closeness, just how much it had cost her.

And now she would have to give it all up. She would put the mission first, she always would, but Bucky knew in his bones that he couldn’t let her.

“Natasha…” Bucky began, and she turned to him, that strange, faraway look still in her eyes, the red lights of the console reflecting off her irises and making her look both dangerous and sad at the same time.

“We don’t both have to go.”

At Natasha’s raised eyebrow he continued, his resolve growing with every word.

“I can handle one Hydra strike team on my own. You know I can, I’ve done more before and under much worse circumstances. And after all, one of us has to stay behind to explain all this to Fury. Do you really think he’ll believe anyone but us if they tell him about the time travelling Nazis?”

She quirked a smile at that, one of the rare, genuine smiles he saw on her face so rarely. It was rare that either of them let their walls come down but if there was ever a time to do it, it was now.

“I can’t let you do this on your own Barnes. You know that.”

It was said softly but with a steely resolve hidden beneath the words and Bucky shook his head in denial.

“You can. I’m asking you to. Think about this logically Nat. It doesn’t have to be both of us. And I’m asking for you to let it be me.”

Natasha glared at him but Bucky could see the hesitance in her eyes, could see her mentally weighing up the options, calculating each possibility with lightning fast thought.

“Please.” Bucky looked her squarely in the eye and a moment of understanding passed between them that words couldn’t express. “Let this be my choice.”

He could sense the moment when she accepted, when the tension between them was released and the strange light dimmed from her eyes, replaced by the firm determination he was used to seeing. She nodded once, briefly, and stepped away, allowing him a clear path to the final door and whatever waited beyond.

“It’s just like you Barnes,” She said, a faint hint of humour lightening her tone. “To end up leaving me with all the paperwork.”

Bucky barked a laugh, the sound bouncing and distorting around the walls of the room.

“Well you know me Nat.” He joked back, trying to keep the emotions roiling in his chest from entering his voice. “I always was more of a hands on kind of guy.”

She smiled briefly at him and Bucky turned away, strengthening his resolve as he walked towards the door. Whatever happened, he would have Steve. He had to hold onto that. No matter what awaited him in the past, Steve would be there.

“Bucky.” Natasha called, and Bucky froze at the sound of the name. It was the first time she had ever used it. It would also be the last.

“Be careful.”

Bucky nodded once, then turned back to look at her. She was standing haloed in the red light of the room, hair glinting like fire and eyes betraying an emotion he couldn’t name. It occurred to him that he would never see her again.

She dipped her head once and he returned the gesture. All their years of partnership, of friendship, conveyed in a single moment.

Then Bucky turned away for the last time, opened the door and stepped through.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It was like nothing Bucky had ever experienced. All of  his previous times with the portals had felt little different from walking through a normal door. Maybe a slight hint of energy crackling along his skin. Enough to raise a few hairs, nothing more. This time though, it was different. Bucky felt like he had just grabbed a live wire. He could feel the power surging around him, two pieces of the universe writhing as the unnatural link between them was finally severed. He wanted to scream, but found that he couldn’t. Distantly he wondered if this was how he died, stuck in the void between two times as the portal shattered around him.

And suddenly it was over. Bucky stumbled as his feet hit the ground and he almost collapsed to his knees as the last vestiges of power flickered around him. Distantly he heard the click of the door swinging shut behind him but he was too focused on remaining upright to pay it much attention.

It was only when he heard the click of a gun that he finally registered his surroundings. He straightened up in a single fluid movement, drawing his gun and aiming it on instinct. In front of him stood the final Hydra strike team, all on high alert with their guns pointing directly at him. And behind them…

“I told you he was gonna come.” Came the smug voice Bucky knew so well and his eyes locked onto Steve’s form, back pressed against the wall, surrounded on all sides by Hydra agents.

“You shoulda run when you had the chance.”

The statement was so incredibly _Steve_ that Bucky had to fight down a grin. Steve was, once again, in mortal danger and here he was, in all his glory, cracking jokes as he faced down the business end of a gun.

There was a pause after Steve spoke, a single half a second where nobody moved or breathed. Then all at once the room exploded into action.

Bucky fired first, hitting the man closest to Steve in the neck before diving to the floor as the other agents opened fire. Steve used the momentary distraction to dodge away from the second agent, diving out of the path of his gun. Bucky used his momentum to drop into a roll and came up next to another agent, knife already in hand to slash at the man’s leg to bring him down before driving the knife deep into the man’s neck to finish the job.

The remaining agents converged on Bucky and one fired off a shot, uncaring of the close quarters of the fight. Bucky dodged out of the way and heard the choked off gurgle as the bullet found another mark behind him. He didn’t have time to make sure the agent was down as at that moment a fist swung towards his face, missing by only a few inches as Bucky flung himself backwards. The man who had attacked him followed with a kick and Bucky dodged to one side and grabbed his leg, twisting until he heard a satisfying crack. The man howled in pain and dropped and Bucky brought his gun round to fire, silencing him permanently.

He barely got his guard up again in time before one of the remaining agents was on him, a knife slashing through his side and ripping the outer layers of his combat gear. Thankfully the inner body armour held and Bucky used the man’s distraction to take him out before he could even register the mistake. He made a mental note to thank Stark for the protection later before realising that he wouldn’t see Stark later, and likely never would again.

Taking a few precious seconds to survey the carnage that was the room, Bucky realised there was only one final Hydra agent left unaccounted for. His instincts screamed a warning but he was exhausted and his body still reeling from the final time jump. He spun round a second too late to dodge the blow to his head and the impact sent him sprawling. Internally swearing, he flipped himself over just in time to hear the gunshot and see the final agent slump to the ground, a neat round hole appearing in his forehead.

Behind him stood Steve, gripping a gun in his knuckle-white grip. It was a Hydra gun, sleek and black, which he must have taken off one of the corpses that now littered the room. His grip on the gun was crushing but his hand was steady and firm. Absently, Bucky mused that without his ailments, Steve would have made a brilliant soldier.

Slowly, Bucky pushed himself to his feet, wincing at the pain in his head as he did so. Gradually, Steve lowered the gun and for a few moments they simple stood, a few feet apart, staring at each other. The silence stretched on, tension caught between them like a rubber band pulled unbearably tight.

Then the moment broke. Bucky didn’t know who moved first but suddenly he was running and Steve tossed the gun to one side and leapt towards him, meeting him in the middle. They crashed into each other in a desperate embrace and Bucky wrapped his arms so tightly around Steve he was almost crushing him. Closing his eyes, he buried his face in Steve’s hair, revelling in the feeling of having Steve in his arms again. He had almost lost him. They had almost lost each other. The thought was unbearable.

“I missed you.” Steve mumbled, face pressed into Bucky’s chest as his arms dug a bruise into Bucky’s back.

“I missed you too.” Bucky replied.

It felt like hours before they broke apart, neither willing to let the other go. Eventually, Steve was the first to pull away, taking a step back. He looked up at Bucky, blue eyes filled with the unshakable determination that Bucky had come to love so desperately.

“It’s over now isn’t it?” Steve asked. “That was the last of them wasn’t it? It’s over.”

Bucky nodded mutely, unable to find the words. It seemed like a lifetime since he had first happened upon the doors, had first stumbled into Hydra’s plot and Steve’s life. He supposed from Steve’s perspective, a lifetime was exactly what it was.

“Do you have to go back?” Steve asked, and there was a guarded hurt in his eyes, as though he was bracing himself for disappointment. He hand was still clutching Bucky’s arm but he began to draw away, letting it drop to his side as he averted his eyes.

“Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t.”

Steve’s eyes snapped back to his and they widened in shock.

“What?” He exclaimed, hand reaching up again to grasp Bucky’s arm. “What do you mean you can’t go back?”

“The portals are closed.” Bucky replied, keeping his gaze fixed on Steve. “Hydra rigged it so that as soon as someone else tried to follow them the whole system would short out. No-one else can come through. And I can’t go back.”

“But…” Steve seemed to fumble to find the words. “You trapped yourself here. You knew what was going to happen and you came back anyway. Why would you do that?”

“Because I love you.”

Bucky was surprised by how easily the words came. He had always thought they would be said in some dramatic moment, a grand reveal when everything would finally come together.  But instead the words sounded less like a grand declaration and more like a simple statement. A fundamental fact that could never be changed. _I love you. Of course I love you._

“I made my choice. And I would make it a thousand times over if it meant saving you again. I don’t regret any of it Steve. I never will.”

Steve stared at him, the moment dragging on into eternity. Then with a swift movement he grabbed Bucky’s face and pulled him down into a desperate kiss.

Bucky felt his hands move to the back of Steve’s head as he reciprocated, his hands tangling in Steve’s hair as he angled their heads together to deepen the kiss. Steve made a vaguely approving noise and his hands slid to the back of Bucky’s shoulders, dragging him closer.

This kiss seemed to last forever and when they finally broke apart Bucky felt like his world had just been tipped on its axis. He hadn’t been lying when he told Steve he would never regret his choice. He may have given up everything he knew but he would trade it all for Steve in a heartbeat. This was what he had been missing all these years. This was what he couldn’t live without.

Steve traced a finger over Bucky’s cheek, softly, almost reverently. Then he glanced away and Bucky saw his eyes flickering about the room, still in a state of utter carnage.

“Alright.” Steve said, turning back to Bucky with a fond smile. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, what are we going to do about the dead bodies in my apartment?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Several hours later, after several bodies had found their new home and the bottom of the river and Steve’s house had been scrubbed vigorously to remove the distinctive blood stains that had seeped into the floor, both Steve and Bucky collapsed side by side onto the bed, both feeling wrung out and exhausted by the day’s events. Despite knowing the futility of the act, Bucky had several times opened the door he had arrived by and stepped through, wondering if any last connection to the future still existed. Each time the result was the same. He ended up standing in the dim hallway of the apartment building, still very firmly trapped in the past.

“I guess I’ll never get to show you the future after all.” He remarked to Steve and Steve shrugged, leaning into his side in an unconscious gesture.

“I don’t mind really. I’ve got the best part of it here with me after all.”

Bucky smiled at that, but it was a smile tinged with exhaustion and a hint of sadness. Steve gave him an apprising look before reaching down and fumbling for a few seconds under the bed before drawing out a bottle of what Bucky assumed to be alcohol by the pungent smell it was letting off. It looked like bootleg stuff, strong enough to kill a horse and strip paint from the walls and it was exactly what Bucky needed. He took it from Steve and unscrewed the cap, taking a swig and wincing as it burned its way down his throat.

“I guess I’ll have to get used to this if I’m going to fit in, living in the past.” He joked, offering Steve the bottle which the other man took with a wry smile. “Along with a whole bunch of other things.”

“Yeah.” Steve agreed, his eyes never leaving Bucky. “No more jumping in and out of my life, no more short cuts. This time, you’re stuck on the slow path with me.”

“To the slow path.” Bucky toasted in a mock salute and Steve raised the bottle to meet him, echoing the words before taking a gulp of his own.  

They sat in silence for a few more minutes and the enormity of his situation finally began to creep in on Bucky. He had nothing here, no job, no money, no papers to prove who he was, not that anyone would believe him if he did. He was, literally, a ghost. According to this time, he didn’t exist.

He would have to get a job. That was the first priority – Steve was far from rich and there was no way he’d be able to provide for the both of them. Bucky knew his very specific skillset would make him a highly employable individual to certain types but that would completely destroy any chance for him to fly under the radar. A low profile job was the only way to avoid awkward questions that he would be unable to provide answers to.

Manual labour it would be then. Something common and unremarkable, the docks or maybe factory work. And then there was the war to think about. It had either already started or was due to start very soon. Would he be called up to fight? Should he fight? He had knowledge of history that could potentially change everything. Could he afford getting involved in a major historical event or should he stay as far away as possible? The thoughts made Bucky’s head spin and he turned away from Steve and ran his hand through his hair in a familiar nervous gesture.

It was in that moment, facing away from Steve and staring blankly at the opposing wall that he noticed it. A door, set innocuously into the wall. A door that definitely hadn’t been there the last time he had been here. A door, other than the front door, in a one-room apartment. A door that lead to nowhere. A door that was starting to look more familiar by the minute.

“Steve,” Bucky asked cautiously, not daring to get his hopes up. “Is that…”

He let the sentence trail off, gesturing wordlessly to the door set in the empty wall. Steve glanced over at it and nodded.

“Yeah, it’s the same one from Ma and I’s old apartment, the one you first came through all those years ago. Our old building was getting torn down and I took it before it was scrapped and moved it here. I guess I was always hoping that someday you’d walk back through. And I mean, you did, just not through the door I was expecting.”

He smiled teasingly at Bucky but Bucky wasn’t paying any attention. His mind whirled and he stood up sharply, stalking over to the door and running his hand over the worn wood, feeling the texture beneath the fingertips of his flesh hand.

“Are you sure this is the door Steve. The exact same door?”

“Yes. Bucky what…” Steve trailed off. He stood up and followed Bucky across the room confusion clear in his expression.

Bucky’s mind raced and he mentally recounted the first conversation he and Natasha had had with Stark, what felt like eons ago. Stark had told them that all the doors ran off the same power source, the same reason that when Bucky had entered one, they had all shorted out. But there was one door that was different. And unstable prototype, the very first door Bucky had used to meet Steve all those years ago. A prototype that ran on a separate power source from the others, discarded and overlooked. And if this door wasn’t link to the others then there was a chance, a small chance…

Bucky grabbed the handle and yanked it open, hardly daring to breathe. In front of him there lay a gaping blackness. Not the solid brick of a wall beyond but a void, a swirling darkness that called to him with his every breath.

“It’s still working.” Steve breathed, staring in awe at the doorway. “I thought you said they had all stopped.”

Bucky turned to him, eyes alight and a soaring happiness building in his chest.

“Steve,” He asked and could hear the excitement colouring his own voice. “Do you still want to see the future?”

“More than anything.” Steve replied, and Bucky could see his own excitement reflected back in Steve’s eyes.

“Pack a bag. And pick a place. Anywhere in the world. I’ll take you there. We’re going to the future Steve.”

Steve looked at him for a second, a kind of bewildered happiness spreading across his face. Then he pulled Bucky down into a bruising kiss. It only lasted a few seconds and when it was over, Steve pressed their foreheads together, smiling so widely Bucky was sure his face would split in half.

“Thank you Buck.” He breathed and their breaths mingled together in the minimal space between them. Bucky was smiling too and his heart soared. There was so much he wanted to show Steve, so much they could do. Steve could come and live with him, Bucky made more than enough money working for SHEILD to support them. Steve could work on his art, or he could enrol in a college or find paid work. SHIELD could help them with the paperwork. Could conjure up a new identity for Steve in an instant. And Bucky’s medical insurance could be extended to cover Steve as well, could help him with all the medical difficulties he had been struggling with all these years.

A perfect future stretched before him and Bucky felt his throat tighten at the thought. He could have it all, his life, his work and Steve. Steve who would make it all worth it. Steve who he couldn’t wait to show the wonders the future could bring.

Giving him one final kiss, Steve turned away and dashed round his apartment, gathering up items seemingly at random.  Diving under the bed he pulled out a battered old case and began shoving things into it haphazardly, still grinning all the while.

Bucky turned back to the door, assessing it with narrowed eyes. It was a portal to be sure but what was it Stark had said? Something about it being unstable? He couldn’t risk Steve so casually, not when they had only just found each other again.

No, first he would have to make sure it was safe. And then he and Steve could step through together and start their new life in the future, side by side like they were supposed to be.

“Steve.” He called over his shoulder to Steve, who was in the middle of cramming his sketchbook into the mess of his case. “I’m just going to go ahead, to make sure it’s safe. Then I’ll come back and get you ok.”

Steve gave a half-hearted grunt of acknowledgment, mind still firmly on his sketchbook. Bucky grinned at him fondly before stepping towards the gaping doorway. He was already halfway inside when he heard the startled gasp.

“Bucky, wait!” Steve yelled, and Bucky spun round to see Steve’s eyes widen, his hand reach out as if to warn Bucky of some unknown danger. Bucky made to step back into the room but it was too late. He could feel the faint pull, the shiver of power running over his spine as the portal sprung into action.

The last thing he saw was the blue of Steve’s eyes before he was swept away, and the door swung shut behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it, chapter six! This was the chapter I've been wanting to write since I started this story and I'm very glad I finally got there.
> 
> Just to clarify something about this chapter, the energy source Hydra is running the portals off is Tesseract power. They haven't got the actual Tesseract but think like the little power cells that Steve picked up and brought back to the SSR in TFA. They're using something like that that they've been storing away since the war. 
> 
> So what did you think? I'm desperate to hear people's opinions on this chapter and as always, comments and kudos keep me writing!
> 
> See you next time...


	7. Chapter 7

“Holy shit.” Bucky breathed, looking around him in awe.

“It worked.”

He spun around, grinning madly as he took in the blank metal walls, the familiar blinking control panel in the centre of the room and the worn wooden door behind him. It had worked. It had actually worked. He was back in his own time again and - he glanced down at himself, quickly assessing – he was relatively unharmed.

Now that he was sure the portal was safe, all that was left was to go back and get Steve. He turned back towards the door but was stopped short by the chirrup of his comm. Glancing down he unhooked it from his belt and activated it, waiting for the person on the other end to speak first.

“…James?” Came a cautious voice, apprehension clear in the words.

“Nat?” He replied. Then again, louder, “Nat! It’s me. I’m fine. I’m back.”

There was silence for a few agonising seconds before he heard a breath release from the other side. He had never heard Nat sounding relieved before and if he hadn’t heard the sound with his own ears he wouldn’t have believed it.

“I saw the tracker on your communicator activate but I didn’t believe…” She trailed off, then spoke again, cool composure regained in an instant. 

“The base it secure. SHIELD sent in a strike team to help clear it out and we’ve got the leftover Hydra scientists and agents in custody. You’ve been gone for a good few hours, SHIELD’s stripping the base as we speak. Whatever Hydra were doing here, they won’t ever be able to try it again.”

There was another drawn out pause before she finally asked, “How did you get back? I thought you were gone for good.”

“So did I. It’s a long story Nat,” Bucky said honestly, hearing in her voice the things she would never say out loud, “And I promise I’ll explain everything soon. But I can’t stay just yet. There’s something I’ve got to go back for.”

“Bucky…” There was a hint of warning in Natasha’s voice but Bucky deactivated his communicator before she could finish the sentence. He wanted to talk to her, wanted to see her face to reassure himself but he couldn’t. Not yet. He had promised Steve he would come back and he intended to make good on that promise. At the rate Steve had been shoving clothes into his suitcase, he must be almost ready to go by now. All Bucky had to do was go back and get him and then they could leave. Bucky smiled softly to himself, thinking of the wonder in Steve’s eyes whenever Bucky had talked about the future. He wanted to be the person who put that look on Steve’s face, wanted to watch as Steve’s eyes lit up at all the marvels the future held.

Still half caught up in the fantasy, Bucky stepped forward, resting his flesh hand lightly on the door handle. He could just about feel it, barely there, almost imperceptible. The faint shiver of power that ran through the door, the final link to the past. Taking a deep breath he gripped the handle and swung the door open, stepping through with practiced ease and letting the darkness swallow him whole, barely hearing the click of the door as it swung shut behind him.

 

* * *

 

 

“Steve?” Bucky called out as he stepped into the darkened apartment. “Steve?”

There was no response.

Bucky took another step, glancing around furtively at the empty space. Maybe Steve had just gone out, he reasoned. He must have neighbours, people he knew, people he would have to explain his disappearance to before he left with Bucky for good.

“Steve?” He called out again but again, there was no reply. Giving the apartment another cursory sweep he turned and walked towards the front door, opening it silently and stepping out into the empty corridor beyond.

His steps were loud in the silence and Bucky took the time to glance around, walking slowly, still hoping Steve would round the corner any minute and silence the fear that had begun to creep shadow-like into his heart.

“Steve?” he called again, louder this time. More urgently.

The rattle of a door almost made him jump and he spun round as the door next to him swung open and an old lady hobbled out. Bucky froze for an instant, contemplating running before realising it was futile. The woman already seen him. Dressed in black combat armour and still dishevelled from his last fight, Bucky knew what a sight he’d make for an unsuspecting neighbour.

But instead of running screaming, the old woman just regarded him curiously for a moment, then pushed back the door of her apartment and gestured for him to go through.

Bucky gaped in shock but did as the woman instructed, slipping past her into the tiny apartment next to Steve’s.  Turning, he looked the old lady up and down, registering as she did the same, her eyes flickering up and down his body until they finally came to rest on his face.

“You must be Bucky.” She said, her voice surprisingly steady. “Steve said you’d come one day.”

Bucky blinked at her, taken completely by surprise.

“Uh, yeah, that’s me.” He began, then shook himself mentally. “Do you know where Steve is? He was supposed to be here when I got back but I can’t find him and…”

He trailed off at the look in the woman’s eyes.

She regarded him for a moment, grey eyes piercing and Bucky almost wanted to flinch away. Then finally she spoke.

“Wait here.” She told him, before hobbling across the room to one of the old wooden draws, sliding it open and rummaging around for a few seconds inside. Finally she drew out a plain white envelope and Bucky could see the neat looping handwriting spelling out his name on the font.

He confusion grew, along with his apprehension and he waited as the old woman returned across the room, letter held out in front of her.  

“Steve used to speak about you all the time. About how one day a strange man in strange clothes would come asking for him. He gave me this, to give to you when you came.”

“Wait,” Bucky said, holding up is hands in a defensive gesture. “I was here just a few minutes ago, with Steve. I don’t need to see a letter, I just need you to tell me where he is.”

He saw the look in the old woman’s eyes, saw the pity reflected in her gaze but he pushed the thoughts ruthlessly aside. He just wanted to find Steve so they could get the hell out of there together.

“You are strange. Steve did warn me you would be.” The woman’s voice was firm and insistent.  “And he made me promise to make you take this letter. To take it and read it and understand.”

“Please,” Bucky said, desperation staring to tinge his voice. “Just tell me where he is.”

“Gone.” The old woman said simply, sadness etched in the lines of her face. “He was lost in the war, along with so many others.”

She shook her head, her gaze lowered.

“He was only twenty-seven when he died. Too young. Much too young.”

All the air seemed to have been sucked out of the room. Bucky opened his mouth but no words came out. There was something blocking his throat, causing his breath to come out in harsh, ragged pants. He blinked once, hard, willing the apartment around his to dissolve, for him to find himself standing back in Steve’s apartment with Steve by his side, smiling and laughing as he had been just minutes before.

Finally, he swallowed down the lump in his throat and managed to choke out words, distorted by the harshness of his breaths.

“Steve can’t be dead.” He breathed, barely registering the crack in his voice. “I saw him, just a few minutes ago. He was here. I saw him. I saw…”

The old lady in front of him was beginning to look slightly alarmed but Bucky barely noticed, the sudden realisation slamming into him like a brick wall, driving the air out of his lungs. Bucky had been here a few minutes ago, yes. But he had forgotten something, something so vital he wanted to scream, to rage at himself for letting something so simple ruin everything.

All the portals had been destroyed except for the prototype, the first he had ever used. The first door ever created, so unstable it was deemed unusable. A door with a faulty energy source, always fluctuating, always in motion. Bucky had stepped through the door the first time and met Steve as a child. He had left and when he returned, what had been moments for him had been months for Steve. When he had done it again it had been more than months. It had been years.

Bucky had forgotten. It was a simple as that. In the rush to check the safety of the door, in his elation at finally have Steve, of having him for good, for forever, he had forgotten that one crucial detail.

What was minutes for Bucky could be years for Steve. Bucky had promised Steve he would return and he had. Only this time he had been far too late.

Mutely, he reached out and took the letter from the old woman , then turned and walked quickly and silently from the apartment, desperate to be away from her grief and her pity.

Almost without realising it, he ended up back in Steve’s apartment, the crushing silence finally making horrible, terrible sense. Shaking a little, Bucky sunk down onto the bed, the letter gripped tightly in his hand.

With one metal finger he traced the front of the envelope, Steve’s handwriting looping and curling as it spelled out the letters of his name. It was beautiful and it made him want to scream and hurl the letter as far away from him as he could. This was all he had left of Steve now. A few words on paper and an empty apartment. The rest was gone.

With shaking hands he slid a finger under the seal and opened the envelope, sliding out the letter inside and unfolding it almost reverently. For a second, he could barely focus on the words on the page, could only imagine Steve sitting writing them, waiting, waiting, always waiting and hoping that one day, Bucky would come back.

_Dear Bucky,_ he read, then closed his eyes, bringing the letter up to rest against his forehead and squeezing his eyes desperately shut to avoid the tears that threatened from falling. He took a deep breath and lowered the letter. He owed it to Steve to read it. He owed it to them both.

_Dear Bucky,_

_Here we are again, me stuck on the slow path and you far away. I want you to know it wasn’t your fault and that I’m still waiting for you. I’m good at that by now, the waiting. I’ll wait my whole life if I have to, for you to come back. You promised and you haven’t let me down yet._

_The war has started, just like you knew it would. I know you told me not to fight but there are good men laying down their lives. I can’t be expected to do any less than them. I tried so many times to enlist but the army wouldn’t take me. I thought I’d never be able to fight._

_But now I have a chance. There’s a doctor who’s let me into a new army programme. It’s classified but he told me I’m just the sort of person they’re looking for. And Bucky, I know you might be angry that I’m putting myself in danger again after all the time you spent saving me. But we both know Hydra was after me for a reason. There’s something I do, something I’m still to do, that they were willing to risk everything to stop. And maybe this is it. Maybe this is my chance to do something good, to make a difference. I know you’ll understand that._

_I’m writing this letter in case you come back while I’m away fighting in the war. I’m hoping that you’ll never read this, that by the time you come back the war will be over and I can tell you in person. But just in case, I’m writing it down here._

_I’ve spent my whole life waiting for you Bucky Barnes. And I’ve spent my whole life loving you. No amount of distance and time will ever change that._

_We may be apart now but one day we will see each other again. I truly believe that._

_Until then,_

_Steve_

Bucky stayed there a long time, seated on the bed with the letter clutched tight in his hands. Finally, after what seemed like hours, he gently refolded it and slid it back into the envelope, tucking it away into the inner pocket of his jacket, next to his heart.

Then he stood up and made his way over to the door, taking one last look at the apartment. He hoped, deep down, that there would be something left for him, some kind of echo, some kind of memory. That he would see Steve’s face or hear his laugh, one last time. But there was nothing. It was just an empty apartment, silent and cold.

Steve was gone.

Bucky turned away, feeling the letter press into his chest. He breathed deeply, letting the final moment wash through him. Then he opened the door and stepped through, hearing the click as it shut behind him with an aching finality as he left the past for the last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS NOT THE END. I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT FINAL CHAPTER.
> 
> There's not way i'd be cruel enough to end it there. There will be one final chapter after this. This is not how this story ends, I promise!
> 
> I know this chapter was ridiculously late but unfortunately, real life got in the way and writing had to be put on the back burner for a while. But don't worry, there wont be such a ridiculous wait until the next chapter, it's almost fully written and will be posted next week. 
> 
> As always thank you to everyone who has read this far and I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially after I ended the chapter like that!


	8. Chapter 8

“Here. This is all I could get my hands on.”

Natasha’s voice broke through the haze of Bucky’s mind, snapping him out of the dark fog of thoughts he had been caught in ever since they had returned from that last fatal mission. After a gruelling debrief which had lasted hours Bucky barely had made it home before he collapsed on his bed, exhausted. But despite his desperate desire to sink into unconsciousness he found he couldn’t. The memories had haunted him long into the night and he’d been unable to find solace in sleep.

When he’d showed up at SHIELD again the next morning it was with dark circles ingrained under his eyes and an air that warned even the most persistent to stay away.

That hadn’t stopped Natasha though. It never did. While Bucky had been wallowing in his own misery, she had been the one to convince (he didn’t know how and wasn’t sure he even wanted to) Fury to allow them access to the Level 10 file containing the DNA record that matched the sample that Hydra was using to guide them to the past.

It took everything in Bucky to keep his composure when he saw the photograph. Steve gazed into the distance, his eyes scrunched up slightly as if against a bright light. The black and white quality of the photo robbed him of the gold in his hair and the blue in his eyes but Bucky would know him anywhere. It was like a punch to the gut to see the dog tags strung around Steve’s skinny neck - the photo must have been taken sometime after Steve had joined the army. Bucky wondered absently if he had died with those tags still on.

The file attached to the photo was long and most of it was redacted, Fury trusted them both but not that much. But Bucky scarcely needed the whole file, the first line told him everything he needed to know.

_Steven Grant Rogers, later known as the war hero Captain America…_

The answer to the final burning question, laid out in harsh black and white.

And of course. Of course that was it. Bucky could have slapped himself at the obviousness of the answer because it all made such sudden, horrible sense. He had learned about Captain America in school, had watched the old film reels and seen the old propaganda posters. But he had never connected it to Steve, the feisty artist from Brooklyn who Bucky had loved with his whole heart. Steve was good and kind and real, so far removed from some distant old historical figure, more myth now than man that Bucky had never even considered it.

But it all made sense. Only Steve, brave stupid Steve, who wanted nothing more than to prove himself to the world and do what was right, would be willing to undergo a dangerous, untested experiment to be allowed to fight for what he believed in. And now he was down in history, a war hero. It seemed the world had finally seen in Steve what Bucky had seen all along and Bucky wished he could be glad that Steve had had the chance he’d always wanted to prove his worth to the world. But he couldn’t. Because everyone knew how Captain America’s story ended.

Steve was seventy years gone, his body crushed in the wreckage of a plane or lost to the depths of the ocean. And Hydra, the organisation he had died to fight, had risen again. Crippled but alive.

_No wonder they were so keen to get rid of Steve._ Bucky had thought to himself. Without Captain America, Hydra would be ruling the world by now. Instead they were just a shadow of what they used to be and soon, if Bucky had anything to say about it, they wouldn’t even be that. He would wipe them off the map for good. He would do it for Steve.

Bucky stared at the photograph, trying to memorise the lines of Steve’s face. In the end, it was all he had left, the photograph, the file, clinical and cold, and his memories. That and whatever was in the box Natasha had just dumped in front of him.

While Bucky had wallowed in his own grief, reading and rereading the file, trying to cling to the past just a moment longer, Natasha had gone down to SHIELD’s oldest archives to retrieve a box, so old and worn it was almost falling apart. A box that contained the last remnants of Project Rebirth’s one and only subject. Anything that hadn’t gone down with Steve in the plane was there, lock away for years and forgotten.

Bucky looked up at Natasha, hating the pity he saw in her eyes.

“You don’t have to look.” She told him, her voice uncharacteristically gentle.

“Yes I do.” Bucky replied.

The box contained the last links to Steve. Everything else was either locked up in museums or lost to time and the seventy years that separated them suddenly felt like a lifetime. It was only yesterday that Bucky had seen Steve, had promised to show him the future, had kissed him like their lives depended on it. But to the rest of the world it had been decades. Steve Rogers had almost vanished completely and Captain America had faded into legend. The last remaining physical proof of Steve Rogers existence was in that box.

The pity was still present in Natasha’s eyes but it was tempered with a kind of grim solidarity. Bucky knew she had known loss too, more than any one person should have had to endure. If anyone understood what he was going through it was her.

Steve was gone. And the future Bucky had pictured for them, all the potential that had had together was gone with him. Thousands of possibilities dying the minute Bucky had closed that door.

“Don’t dwell in the past James.” Natasha told him as she turned to leave. “There’s nothing left there for you now.”

She strode past him and out the door and Bucky was infinitely grateful that she had given him the privacy he needed. They understood each other and she had known instinctively that this was something he needed to do alone.

Carefully, Bucky flipped the lid of the box open and took stock of the contents within. It was all very normal, almost laughably so. The last remains left of Steve on the earth and it could have been the contents of any soldier’s kit, mainly standard gear, with only a ratty old sketchbook marking the belongings as personal. On top of the worn leather cover lay pair of metal dog tags, dulled by war and time.

With hesitant hands, Bucky picked them up, feeling their smooth texture beneath his fingertips. Carefully he ran his hands over the surface, his fingers lightly tracing the words that were stamped there.

On an impulse, Bucky grabbed them by the chain and slipped them over his head, glancing around to make sure no-one had seen the action. He doubted anyone would care too much but he’d rather not have to face the questions about why he was stealing the property of a long dead war hero. He couldn’t even really explain it to himself. He just wanted to keep a part of Steve with him, now that Steve himself was gone.

Moving on from the dog tags he picked up the sketchbook, flipping it open to the first page. A typical army camp stared back at him, the ramshackle tents scattered about, the jeeps standing idling as soldiers ran back and forth. It was done roughly, obviously a quick sketch, the pencil lines quick and imprecise. Flipping to the next page Bucky saw a landscape, a dark forest sketchily rendered in the same cheap graphite. He almost smiled, thinking of Steve sitting drawing as the war raged around him. Everything might have changed but at least that was something that had remained a constant. Steve had loved to draw, had drawn for as long as Bucky had known him. It was good to see that even the war hadn’t taken that away from him.

Bucky made to close the book but stopped as a loose piece of paper fluttered from between the final pages and landed by his feet. It was different from the rest of the book, thicker paper and looking older and far more worn than any of the other drawings. Curiously, Bucky picked it up, unfolding the tightly folded square to reveal the faded picture inside.

It was him. The paper was clearly torn from a sketchbook, far older than the one it had been kept in. The drawing itself was good but a little inelegant, baring all the markings of a developing artist. And Bucky recognised it instantly.

He had never seen the drawing itself but he remembered vividly the night it had been drawn. The night he had sat with Steve, so much younger, fumbling and blushing as he asked Bucky if he could draw him. They had sat out on the fire escape for hours, Bucky content to just sit with Steve, gazing out at the city as Steve sketched quietly beside him.

The drawing showed Bucky’s profile, his eyes distant as he gazed at something far off the page, a slight smile gracing his lips. The drawing might be a little rough but Bucky could see the care in each line, every detail of his face lovingly illustrated, each line painstakingly drawn.

_I think I’ve loved you my whole life._  Bucky could remember Steve saying. Looking down at the drawing, Bucky believed him.

Bucky could feel his throat begin to close and he desperately tried and failed to fight down the feelings burning in his chest. The thought of Steve, so young, still so unaware of what was to come, his drawing the only proof he ever had that Bucky was real. Waiting, always waiting, waiting for years as Bucky flitted in and out of his life. Holding onto nothing but a picture and a promise that Bucky would come back.

Steve had spent his whole life waiting for Bucky. He had kept his drawing, had taken it to war with him. Had held on desperately to Bucky’s promise and had believed with his whole heart that Bucky wouldn’t fail him. That someday, they would see each other again.

Now it was Bucky’s turn to hold on. To cling to the drawing because it was the last reminder, the only reminder that Steve had been real. That what had happened between them really had come to pass. Captain America was a figure from the history books and Bucky’s story was so unbelievable that even he might have come to doubt it had really happened in time. But here was proof, physical proof that Steve Rogers had met Bucky Barnes, that everything that had passed between them had really happened. That somehow, across time itself, they had met. They had loved. It had all been real.

Bucky stayed looking at the drawing for a long time. The cool metal of Steve’s dog tags warmed gradually with the heat of his skin, hidden under his shirt, the minutes ticked slowly away and still Bucky stayed. It was only when he saw the dampness marring the drawing that he realised he had been crying.

 

* * *

 

 

_Three months later…_

“We have a new mission from Fury.”

Bucky grunted in acknowledgment at Natasha’s words, not looking up as he finished strapping his standard SHIELD sidearm to his hip. He wasn’t surprised at the new mission, he had been taking them nonstop for the past three months, desperate to lose himself in the familiar routine. The rush and thrill of an assignment was the only thing that had kept him from thinking about…

He cut the thought off there. There was no use dwelling on the past after all.

Some of the higher ups had been making noise about sending Bucky on forced leave, he had by far exceeded his required active field mission quota and there was apparently concern about his ‘mental and physical wellbeing’ as the report had stated bluntly. But thankfully, Fury had intervened. He suspected Natasha had something to do with it. She understood the need to keep going, to throw yourself into your work to block out the thoughts that you wanted to banish permanently. At least the missions worked as a good distraction. Mission were safe. Missions kept the thoughts at bay. Anytime he spent too much time in his own head, the memories began to creep back. The futile dreams. The regrets.

The thing was; nothing seemed right now that Steve was gone. He couldn’t look at the city without thinking about Steve’s elegant, artist’s hands, meticulously adding line after line as the buildings rose up on paper and seared themselves into his memory. He couldn’t walk the streets without stopping every few paces, looking at the bustling city life thinking ‘ _Steve would have loved this’._ Every flash of blond hair or glimpse of blue eyes sent his heart slamming against his ribs until he forced himself to look away.

But Steve was gone. And there was nothing Bucky could do to change that.

But he could avenge him. He could continue on his work, could fight for what Steve died for. Almost every mission he had selected in the last three months had been related to Hydra. Now that SHIELD had had a taste of what they could do they were more determined than ever to neutralise the threat. And Bucky was happy to be at the forefront of that charge, taking every chance he got to slice off another one of Hydra’s many heads and burn the stump for good measure.

_For Steve_. He would tell himself, when exhaustion threatened to bring him to his knees. _You have to finish it. For Steve._

“Hydra?” Bucky asked Natasha, glancing up for the first time to look her in the eye. She nodded briefly in response, tossing him the last of his gear which he accepted gratefully. They were both dressed in standard SHIELD uniforms rather than their preferred combat gear but neither of them ever went anywhere without a fair amount of protection and weaponry. It was a hazard of the job and both of them knew paranoia was better than ending up dead.

“Hill is briefing us in five.” She told him, motioning with her head for him to follow her out the door.

They walked together out of the equipment room and down one of SHIELD’s endless corridors towards the main lobby. Natasha glanced at him briefly, looking for a second as if she wanted to speak but turned away without making a sound. Bucky knew that sometime soon he would have to talk to her about it. But it wouldn’t be today. It still felt too raw, too fresh. He wondered if that feeling would ever go away.

_‘Get it together Barnes’_. He thought viciously, dragging himself out of that train of thought. _‘And stop feeling so fucking sorry for yourself. Steve’s gone. And he’s not coming back.’_

The two of them had just made it to the main lobby when the faint sounds of shouting met their ears. Simultaneously, both he and Natasha’s hands went to their guns and Bucky could see every agent surrounding them suddenly tense as they registered the noise.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash and the sound of the voices yelling indecipherably increased, coming from one of the side doors that lead into the main hall. Heads snapped up and guns were in hands in an instant. Bucky had raised his own M9 instinctively and beside him Natasha had done the same thing with her own pair of handguns.

On the far side of the hall, a man burst through one of the side doors and into the main hall. Agents scattered, taking up defensive positions as the man stumbled into the light of the atrium, spinning around as he took in the sight before him.

The man was blond, tall and well-built with broad shoulders and hair that fell in strands round his face. He was turned away from Bucky but Bucky could see the way his shoulders rose and fell rapidly with every panicked breath. He was dressed oddly, in loose fitting brown slacks and a tight white t-shirt. Bizarrely, Bucky noticed he wasn’t wearing any shoes.

The agents all around him had all either taken cover or raised their weapons but Bucky found himself frozen, his gun loose in his grip, lowered to point at the floor. He took a step towards the man, sensing Natasha’s tension as she levelled her guns at the figure, covering Bucky’s back as always. Bucky kept walking, closer and closer until he was near enough to see the sweat beading on the back of the man’s neck, the way he jaw was clenched, with tension radiating from every fibre of his being.

The blond man was still facing away from Bucky, his chest heaving and his feet cold and bare against the harsh metal floor. He was bigger, much bigger, broad and powerful, and yet…

“I thought you were smaller.” Bucky choked out, taking another halting step towards the man before him.

The man tensed, all his muscles freezing into place. He turned, agonisingly slowly, until he was facing Bucky for the first time. Bucky looked into those bright blue eyes, unchanged despite everything, and finally knew for sure what his heart had been telling him all along.

The blond man opened his mouth to speak.

It was Steve.

_The End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so here we are, the end. Thanks to everyone who read this far, your kudos and comments have really kept me writing!
> 
> As many people have worked out, this was heavily based on 'The Girl in the Fireplace'. I didn't tag it as such in the beginning so that people who weren't familiar wouldn't have anything spoiled for them but now that it's over I've added it to the tags. And for reference, this was the song I was listening to pretty much on repeat as I wrote, especially during the part about Steve's letter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1sadZktyos I've wanted to write this AU for a long time now, mainly because of that song!
> 
> As for this chapter, the final few paragraphs were actually the first ones I ever wrote, some time very late at night when I finally decided I was going to write this AU out properly. I'm very glad I've finally got to post them after all this time!
> 
> Thanks again to everyone who got this far and I'd love to hear your thoughts one last time
> 
> Rey x


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